New Change
by MusicIsMyLife1214000
Summary: Harry Potter always had this hole in his heart. An aching hole that missed all those who died. In nightmares, he relives the pain over and over again, just making the hole bigger and bigger. And it hurts. When Harry wakes up in 1971, he's adopted into the Potter family immediately. Perhaps this is a second chance. A chance to stop all those deaths. A chance to make a new change.
1. Nightmare and Reality

May 2nd, 2010.

Everyone was out celebrating the end of the Second Wizard War. Harry glanced outside his bedroom window. His five year old son, James Sirius Potter, was outside, playing in the backyard along with his younger brother, Albus Severus Potter. Ginny Potter, his wife, was sitting in the front porch, rocking their youngest child, Lily Luna Potter in her arms. Lily was only two but she seemed to already be more mature than his eldest.

Albus was probably the most mature out of the lot – just like Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape were and James Sirius more like their namesake's. Mischievous, loud and absolutely hilarious.

All of Harry's children were so beautiful, much like their mother. Ginny was going to the celebratory party along with the rest of the wizarding world. The heroes of the war would have the best seating, the best food, the best everything –

But Harry wouldn't know. He wasn't going to go.

Harry could not celebrate when there were so many people just gone.

Harry was happy for the rest of the world of course. No more Voldemort, no more family members being murdered, but Harry wasn't the only one who lost people. He just lost the most.

He lost his parents, his teachers, his friends, his uncle, his godfather… the people he loved and cherished.

"Harry? You alright?" Ginny Potter stood at the bedroom doorway, red hair cascading down to her waist. Ginny had let it grow out, especially once Harry told her that he loved running his finger through her hair. Harry's wife came to sit beside him, clasping his hand in her own. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I know what you're thinking," Ginny whispered softly.

Harry sighed, smiling wryly. "It's hard to find a time where you don't know what I'm thinking," he replied.

"Harry," Ginny said. Ginny looked deep into Harry's eyes. "You're the most powerful wizard in the world…"

Harry cut her off before she could finish. "I don't care about that, Ginny."

"Let me finish," Ginny smiled. "You're the most powerful wizard in the world, you're worshipped by everybody but you would trade that in a heartbeat for just one person back from the dead."

Harry nodded silently.

"You would trade your riches, your gold, your very own _life_ for them, correct?" Ginny said.

Harry nodded glumly, clarifying for her.

"Why did they die, Harry?" Ginny asked. But before Harry could reply, Ginny cut him off with a chaste kiss. "Because they wanted to save _your_ life. Now, let's not throw their sacrifice to waste. And what would the rest of us do, Harry, if you live in your past forever? You have three kids that need you and me. I need you," Ginny said, embracing Harry tightly. "I want you to know," Ginny whispered. "Every day I spend with you, I'm grateful for. So every day you live, be thankful. That's how they would want you to live."

Ginny stood up and exited the room, leaving Harry alone in the bedroom. Downstairs, he heard the door slam which meant Ginny was leaving with the kids to go to the party at the Ministry.

Every year, on May 2nd, it would be like this. Ginny would comfort Harry and Harry would stay at home. Then Harry would fall asleep, with nothing better to do.

Harry climbed underneath the heavy covers and closed his eyes, snuggling into his soft pillow. His pillow was a poor substitute for his wife, but it would have to do.

Harry was not weak. He was a powerful Occlumens and Leglimens. He excelled in every area, he was Head Auror, but every night, Harry would still tell himself: _If only I was a bit stronger, I could have saved them. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Fred, my father, my mother… They wouldn't have had to die if I was just a bit stronger._

And the hole in Harry's chest would grow bigger and bigger, only filled by his closest friends, his wife and his children. But there was still a hole there.

It would never be filled. Harry was a broken toy, as much as he tried to hide it. He was twenty-nine already – thirty when July 31st comes to pass and Harry Potter was still hung up in the past.

Unhappily, Harry began to drift off to sleep, only to escape the world he lived in.

But he should have known. Harry James Potter is _never_ able to escape. Not even in the world of dreams.

…

_Harry was in a pitch black room, and he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He was all alone. He could not smell anything. He could not see anything, nor did he have anything to touch. _

_ "Harry…" a quiet spot said. Suddenly, a spotlight was cast on him, illuminating him. Harry was dressed in school robes, surprisingly, robes he never thought he would ever wear again. His wand was not in its' usual holster but in his robe sleeve – just like it was in the school days, when he didn't have a holster. His holly-and-phoenix wand was drawn and Harry stood warily as he waited for something to happen. _

_It was not uncommon for him to have these dreams and Harry expected Voldemort jump out at any time. _

_Then someone walked out from the shadows, a spotlight trained on them too. But it was not Voldemort. It was not someone Harry expected to see._

_Remus Lupin stood there, looking at his feet._

_"Remus?" Harry asked, taking a hesitant step closer._

_"Don't come near me!" Remus said then, looking up. Harry froze. His eyes were filled with betrayal and anger. "You let me die, Harry! After all I've done for you… I died! My son is left alone, like an orphan. Like _you_," he said bitingly. "I felt sorry for you. I loved you. I did _everything _I could for you!" Remus yelled. This was not the calm, cool and collected Remus Harry knew. Remus shut his eyes tightly, placing a hand on his forehead. "I died because you let me die. Because like an idiot, I followed you into battle. You're out celebrating the battle that people _died_ in, Harry!"_

_"I'm not celebrating with them!" Harry protested. Each word that came out of Remus' mouth was like a dagger in Harry's side._

_"But you let so many people die for you, Harry," Remus said somberly. "You didn't try to save us at all."_

_"Remus I'm sorry!" Harry cried, running into the arms of the man that Harry called friend, teacher and uncle._

_"Don't apologize to me!" Remus said, shoving Harry to the ground. Then Remus disappeared, leaving Harry feeling so empty._

_"Harry," came a sad voice. Harry whirled around to see Sirius Black, in all his former glory. His black hair, his gray eyes and his sad smile. _

_"Sirius," Harry said, relieved. Harry rushed forward to hug Sirius, but Sirius made no move to return the hug. "I'm so sorry," Harry cried into his shoulder. It felt strange. Harry should have been at James' height and taller than Sirius, but now Sirius seemed to be taller than him. "I tried, I really did," Harry continued. "It was my fault you died, and I'm sorry, Sirius. Please don't hate me. I already lost Remus. Please, Sirius," Harry pleaded._

_"Harry… it's so hard on the other side," Sirius said in a rather hard voice. Harry slowly backed away from his godfather. Sirius looked like he was restraining tears. His gray eyes were bloodshot._

_"Sirius…"_

_"I died, Harry. The rest of my life is gone," Sirius said. A tear leaked out of his eye. Harry wanted to die. He made Sirius, one of the strongest people he knew, cry. _

_Harry dropped to his knees, clasping Sirius' hands in his. "I'm so sorry," Harry pleaded. "Forgive me," he begged. "Sirius, I love you," Harry said, staying on the ground but looking up at Sirius. "You're my godfather. I love you, my parents, Remus – all those who died. It hurts in my heart too."_

_"You _dare_ talk to me about hurting?" Sirius asked incredulously. "I _died_ and you're talking about_ your _pain. I sacrificed myself for you. Because your stupidity led me to my death. Hermione even _told_ you that you should have continued Occlumency. Now you're a master at it but you couldn't have been a master at it when I was still alive?" Sirius asked. His words were twisting the daggers that were already embedded metaphorically in Harry's side. The daggers dug deep into Harry and Harry shut his eyes._

_"It's my fault," Harry said, falling to the ground, releasing his hold on Sirius. "It's my fault," he repeated. Sirius disappeared, leaving Harry to cry on the ground. Harry felt child-like. He looked at his hands in surprise. Hands of a child. In front of him appeared a mirror. Harry was… eleven again._

_Harry gaped. _

_"Harry."_

_Harry turned around again and once again gaped. There stood his parents, Lily and James Potter. _

_The three of them rushed forward into embrace. "I missed you so much," Harry cried. "And I'm so sorry for letting you die. And I know…"_

_"Harry," Lily said gently, brushing Harry's bangs out of his face. Harry found himself on the laps of his parents. His head was on Lily and feet on James. "Sometimes," Lily said wistfully. "It hurts. It hurts not being able to protect you like I should be able. I miss not being alive."_

_Lily's gentle words were what hurt Harry even more. Especially when a tear leaked from her green eyes. "It hurts, Harry," Lily said. Harry got up and hugged his mother tightly. "It hurts so much."_

_James came behind them and embraced them. The three of them sat there, the hole in Harry's heart growing and growing. _

_"Harry," James said quietly. "We died for you. It's just… sometimes it hurts to see your face. You're everything we can't have. You remind us of the world we lost. The friends we lost."_

_And that finished it. Harry broke away from his parents. "I know. You're disappointed in me. I'm not the son you wanted. I'm not good enough," Harry said, voice quivering. "It doesn't matter what accomplishments I achieve. I get it."_

_Lily and James did not correct him, nor did they speak._

_Harry closed his eyes tightly. "I get it… And I wish I didn't. It hurts for me to, you know? To not have you there. To be alone in the world. I'm an orphan. Teddy is an orphan but I'm striving to be there for him as much as I can. And everything I do, it's just not good enough is it? Teddy will have that same hole in his heart like I do. And it just keeps getting bigger and bigger everyday because that is another day passing without the people he needs."_

_They all knew they were not talking about Teddy Lupin anymore._

_"I'm sorry!" Harry screamed, clutching his heart. Harry could feel his heartbeat slowing. Harry dug deep into his chest with his hand and pulled out his heart. There really was a hole in his heart. And it was consuming the organ he needed. _

_Then Harry fell to the ground, alone in the darkness._

_…_

Harry woke up from his nightmare in sweat and tears. Then wind blasted against his face. And Harry stood up, scanning his surroundings. He was not in his bedroom. He wasn't even in Potter Manor. Surprisingly, he found a backpack on his shoulders. Carefully, he took it out. He found a shrunken Firebolt, to Harry's surprise. He hadn't gone on the broom in years. The Marauder's Map. Another surprise. He had given it to Teddy. His wand was once again in in his robe sleeve – just like it was in that _nightmare._

Actually, Harry thought he was in Hogsmeade. The Three Broomsticks was over there and Madam Puddifoot's was over there.

But no one was there. Madam Rosmerta was not running around handing out butterbeers. There was no hustle and bustle or loud sounds coming from Hogsmeade. It was empty.

Harry took out his wand as his Auror training kicked in. He turned around and looked into the glass window of the Three Broomsticks and gasped in surprise.

There he was. Harry James Potter. In a tiny eleven year old's body. Harry wanted to scream. What happened to him? Was he still in a dream?

But after so many nightmares, Harry had learnt to differentiate between reality and his subconscious. And all senses pointed to reality.

"And who might you be?" came an eerie voice, a voice Harry had never thought he would hear again.

Harry whirled around, cursing himself for being so careless. He had practically had a mirror in front of him, yet this man had snuck behind him.

Voldemort.

Voldemort already had red eyes and pale skin. Though he was not as monstrous as he was before, he was still ugly. It was because of his Horcruxes he had created. It had stripped Tom Riddle of his handsome looks, leaving him in the ugly shell of Voldemort.

"You are not cowering inside the buildings, I see, much like the rest of the wizarding world," Voldemort sneered. Harry once again looked inside the Three Broomsticks and found that Voldemort was right. There were people hiding underneath the chairs and tables.

"I…" Harry started, grasping for words to say. "Do you know the date?"

Voldemort looked at Harry, amused. "My boy, you do not even know the date? This is the time of the Dark Lord! The Golden Age, I would say. Under my rule, it would become so."

Harry bit back a biting retort. "I want the real date," Harry said coldly. Voldemort only smirked.

"May 2nd," Voldemort replied. Harry was growing more nervous. Was the world playing some kind of cruel joke? They resurrected Voldemort and changed Harry back into an eleven year old boy? What about his kids?! Ginny? Hermione and Ron?

"1971," Voldemort finished.

Then Harry struggled to breathe. This was his parents' first year. Lily Potter – no, Evans – probably didn't know about the wizarding world yet. James Potter didn't know who Lily Evans was yet. And they were bound to meet in September for Hogwarts.

What happened to him? What about the future…. And…

His dream. Sirius, Remus, Lily, James – all those people who died… they can be saved. But Harry had to be careful to change things. Very careful. Time was a tricky business. The excitement and nervousness in him clashed, making it hard for Harry to do anything really.

"Well this is awkward," Harry managed to get out. He was so used to Voldemort trying to kill him. "I'm guessing you are either going to try to kill me or try to recruit me into your Death Eaters."

Voldemort smirked. "You are but a child. You have no use to me… except… _Imperio!"_ Voldemort cried. Immediately Harry was under the warm haze. _Kill everyone inside the Three Broomsticks_, a voice hissed.

"NO," Harry shouted, breaking free from the curse. "_Stupefy!"_ Harry shouted. "_Protego Maxima," _Harry shouted and immediately the spell began to work, and Voldemort even backed away. He casted the spell over Hogsmeade, making Hogsmeade safe from dark magic. Voldemort ran away then, for the spell caused disintegration for people who were dark that came too close. Harry was not weak. Voldemort probably expected a weak _Protego Maxima_, one that would not have been able to chase him away, but Harry was stronger than most adults.

Then the Aurors came to the edge of Hogsmeade. Harry ran to them. Then he stared. The Aurors entered Hogsmeade but some who tried disintegrated.

"What happened?" an Auror asked immediately. Alastor Moody. Harry wanted to shout for joy.

"I don't know, Moody," another Auror said next to him.

"They disintegrated," Harry interrupted. He used his formal tone, the one he used for Auror meetings and such. "I casted a _Protego Maxima_, causing any dark magic to come near to just disintegrate. Those Aurors must have been in league with "

"_You_?" Moody said, disbelieving. "You are a kid. That _Protego_ is one of the hardest spells to master." Harry cursed then.

"It's true," came a timid voice. Harry turned around. A kid, even younger than Harry's current form, was following him. Harry once again inwardly cursed himself for not sensing her. The girl was probably seven, one of the people hiding in the Three Broomsticks.

"He fought off this spell… My mummy told me about it," she said quietly, under the stare of the intimidating Aurors. "This _Imperio?_" she asked quietly. The Aurors gasped and some backed away from Harry, unsure. "The bad man told him to kill everyone in the Three Broomsticks," the girl quivered. "But then he," the girl pointed to Harry. "Said _no._ And then he said that spell and the bad man left."

Then a woman rushed out of the Three Broomsticks. "I am so sorry, sir," the woman apologized, leading the girl away.

Moody was wary of Harry, but did not make any motion to arrest him. "What's your name, boy?"

"Harry Potter," Harry said tiredly, not even thinking. Then he realized what he just said but fought to keep a straight face.

"Related to James Potter by any chance? Practically his twin," Moody said. "Where are your parents?"

"Dead," Harry said bluntly. It was true though. His parents_ were_ dead. Sort of.

Moody did not spare him a pitying look. "Who are you?" Moody demanded. "No kid can do that spell." Moody placed his already drawn wand under Harry's chin. "Who are you?" Moody said menacingly.

"Let him go," an Auror said. "He drove away Voldemort. He can't be all bad." Harry was internally grateful for the Auror.

"Are you crazy? You see a kid that can cast a _Protego Maxima_ and you just go: Let him go?" Moody demanded. "Have I taught you nothing?"

"But…"

"What if it was just a big show?" Moody said.

"But a Death Eater would not cast a Protego Maxima – the spell would have destroyed the caster then!" the Auror protested.

"The kid may not be a Death Eater, but the power is still suspicious," Moody said, narrowing his eyes. His magical eye seemed to scan over Harry, as if checking for a Dark mark.

"I'm taking him to the Ministry. We can get Charlus and Dorea to adopt him, or something," the Auror said.

"Do you really think the Potters would adopt him? This suspicious little boy?" Moody scoffed.

"I'm still here, you know," Harry said, but Moody's eye glared at him while the other stayed focused on the Auror. Harry wisely fell silent.

"Sure they will. You know how much they wanted another kid. This is practically a spitting image of their kid right now."

"Which is strange!" Moody said.

"What if they had twins but one was somehow taken from them?" the Auror said.

"This isn't one of your stupid soap operas, you fool!" Moody exclaimed. The Auror sighed, giving up.

Moody resumed his glare on to Harry. "But what are we going to do with you then…"

"Just hand him over to the Potters," someone said in the crowd of Aurors. Moody did not respond to the person who spoke.

Moody was still not giving in. Harry grasped for a sob story. "My aunt and uncle… I ran away from them after I learned magic," Harry said.

"Who taught you magic?" Moody demanded.

"My godfather. But he was killed by Death Eaters as well. My aunt and uncle never liked me and they…" Harry paused, looking down.

When he looked back up, Aurors were giving him half awed, half pitying looks.

"I don't believe your story. But I can't throw you into Azkaban for lying and I have Death Eaters to catch," Moody said. "Tanner," Moody said. The Auror that had defended Harry straightened. "Take the boy to the Potters. They can investigate for me. The rest of you," Moody said, voice growing louder.

Harry did not hear the rest of his instructions. The Auror already took his hand and Apparated.

With a loud pop, the Auror and Harry disappeared, reappearing at the Ministry of Magic. The Auror, Tanner, left to find Charlus and Dorea Potter.

Nervously, Harry waited. People were already looking at him, pointing and whispering about him. Some people even came up to him and shook his hand – just like they did in the future. Harry sighed. News travelled way too fast. Then Tanner returned, two people behind him. There they were. Charlus even had the unruly hair Harry had.

"My, my," Charlus murmured. "Just like James."

"We signed the papers, Harry," Dorea said gently. Harry already knew what Charlus and Dorea thought. This poor, scrawny child. They took pity on Harry – his malnourished state. Harry had a feeling they were as suspicious as Moody was, but they were more subtle about it.

He refused to use Leglimency on them, but besides, they probably already knew Occlumency. Harry tried to place himself in their shoes.

More likely than not, they were going to observe his behaviour. Then they would place the verdict. Harry just had to sell the 'I'm the most innocent person in the world' act. Harry internally sighed. He was screwed.

**WOOO! **

**FIRST CHAPTER: UP! NOTE: This is rewritten!**

**This plot MAY be overused. But I wanted to put my own spin on it. Any similarities it has to any other stories well... Sorry? But GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE ;)**

**Review, Follow and Favourite! **


	2. Familiar Faces

Harry James Potter was going to meet his father. Who was the same age as him.

Who said his life was normal?

Nervously, he held the hands of his new adopted family – which were his grandparents so it felt kind of awkward that they were his new 'mum and dad.'

Another loud pop sounded and they were off, back to the Potter Manor. Harry was not surprised. He had been living in this house since he inherited it when he was eighteen. It was the previous home of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.

Charlus and Dorea Potter led Harry into the house and Harry faked an expression of surprise and awe. Then a loud sound began running down the staircase. "That's James, our son," Dorea said. Harry sucked in a breath, biting his lip nervously. He hadn't been this nervous in a long time. Not since Voldemort.

And that only rose up the question. How was he going to defeat Voldemort again? He needed the protection of his mother… and Harry didn't want his parents to die again. And once he had the protection, he needed Voldemort to drink his blood so that they both shared the connection and if Harry was a Horcrux – baby Harry not thirty-year-old Harry, then Harry would have to die _again_ and then Voldemort would have to be killed after all his Horcruxes and then…

It would be complicated. Perhaps Harry could destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes right then… and then baby Harry could have a real life. After all, Voldemort did not have as many Horcruxes in the 1970's. The only Horcruxes he should have was his diary, the Gaunt ring, Salazar Slytherin's locket, Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

The diadem should be easy enough… in the Room of Requirement. The Gaunt shack… A little bit more tricky but it should do. The diary was probably in Malfoy Manor and the locket in the cave… Harry cursed then, knowing the cup was in the Lestrange's vault.

"He looks just like me, Mum!" a voice said, distracting Harry from his important thoughts.

Harry had to focus a bit – for he still saw Horcruxes and red eyes in his mind – before seeing the nearly identical boy in front of him. Harry could see the resemblance – the same proud forehead, the high cheekbones, the thin lips. But where Harry had a sharper nose, James' was a bit more upturned and of course, the colour of their eyes were different. Also, James didn't seem to have glasses yet.

"You're my new twin brother, aren't you?" James said cheerfully. Harry was slightly surprised. This boy was so immature – not like the stoic, strong father Harry had always imagined James Potter to be.

But then, James Potter was only eleven. Immature. Carefree.

"Yes, I guess I am," Harry smiled wryly.

"Great!" James said immediately, hooking his arm through Harry's. "The tutor I have is _so_ boring and I want to go to Diagon Alley right now." James led Harry upstairs. "I want my wand. And a new owl!" James said excitedly. "But the Hogwarts letter doesn't come for about two months," James said sadly.

Harry silently held his wand in his robe sleeve, careful to not let James see it. Then he decided, what the heck.

"Excuse me? Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" he asked. "Do you think we can get James his wand today?" Harry asked innocently. "It would be good for him to learn some spells."

Dorea and Charlus shared a look. "I suppose…"

"Alright!" James cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "Wait, what's your name?" James asked, suddenly realized he hadn't asked Harry for his name yet.

Harry eyed James with sad eyes. Wise eyes beyond his years. "Harry Potter," Harry said quietly. "Harry James Potter."

…

"This is so cool," James said excitedly as he ran through Diagon Alley.

"James Potter! Stick with your family!" Dorea's sharp voice called. James pouted but slowed down a bit, just enough for Harry to catch up. And then he ran off again, heading to the direction of Ollivander's.

"I'll get him," Harry said before dashing to find his new twin.

"Wait, Harry!" but Harry was already gone.

James had already entered Ollivander's and Harry was close to follow.

"Ah," came the voice of Ollivander. "Both of you require wands?" Ollivander asked. Harry sighed, seeing Ollivander with the same wild white hair and brighter silver eyes. So unlike the Ollivander Harry had seen after he had come out of Malfoy Manor…

His shop was still the same – boxes filled with wands stacked to the ceiling, boxes organizing themselves and Harry had no doubt that one of these boxes held his own wand – for the future.

"Just him," Harry pointed. Sirius had before told him that James had taken nearly three hours just looking for a wand and Harry obviously did not want to stand there in the dusty shop for three hours. Before Ollivander could suggest a wand, Harry interrupted him. "I have a feeling my brother would excel in Transfiguration. And not only that, but mahogany would look incredible on him, don't you think?" Harry asked, trying to seem as innocent as he could.

The act didn't pass with Ollivander. He narrowed his eyes and extended his hand. Immediately a box flew out of the shelves and into his hand. Ollivander took out the wand and handed it to James. "Eleven inches, mahogany wand. Pliable and good for Transfiguration. Simply wave it," Ollivander said. James did as told and immediately the wand shot out red sparks.

Ollivander only narrowed his eyes further in suspicion.

"Well, we have everything we need," Harry said, wanting to quickly get out of the shop. "James you wait here and I'll go fetch your parents to pay. Seven galleons, I presume?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Ollivander said. "How did you know?" he asked but Harry was already out the door. Dorea and Charlus Potter was already there and they entered in after Harry's suggestion that he wait outside when they pay. Harry stared at the store across the busy street. Eeylops Owl Emporium. Sighing heavily, Harry stared at the owls through the glass window. He missed Hedwig. His familiar… the one who died to save him. Harry wondered if Hedwig hated him as well.

"This is so cool," said James as he walked out of Ollivander's. "Dad, can you teach me a spell?"

"How about this. You two boys go back home first with Dorea. I have some Auror business to do," Charlus frowned. "You boys stay at the house and practice first. There's a ward that protects your magical signature. Your mum has to meet me at the Ministry after and when we come back, we'll see how many spells you've learned."

"Alright," James said. The disappointment on his face was clear.

"Cheer up, James," Harry said. "I know a mean tickling charm."

James cheered up a little bit, though his posture told Harry immediately that he was still slightly downcast. In Auror training, you had to read everything out of the situation. No doubt Harry's grandparents – ah hem, new parents – understood as well.

Sighing, Dorea brought them home and James led Harry to his new room. Harry sighed. The room he was in was the room Harry and Ginny had shared – or more appropriately, _will_ share.

All this time business was getting to him.

"You're about my size so I guess we can share clothing," James said.

"So. What do you want to learn first?" Harry asked. Before James could reply though, Harry held up a hand. "Bad question. I'll teach you the tickling charm first. Say it with me: _Rictusempra." _James said it eagerly. "Now when you move your wand, move it like you're drawing a leaf." Harry demonstrated in the air, dragging his wand to the right, left, then right again – like a flattened spiral of a sort.

James followed, though his wand movement was slightly off. "Keep practicing that," Harry instructed. "Now this spell is good for distracting your opponent and good for first or second year duels," Harry said wryly. Harry momentarily forgot it was his dad sitting in front of him. That he was only eleven and not an Auror teaching a trainee.

"_Rictusemptra,"_ Harry declared and James crouched onto the floor laughing, rolling around and holding his sides.

"Stop…" James gasped out. Harry ceased his spell but his wand was pointed at James, who was on the ground in a horrible position.

"See? Good battle tactics," Harry said. "It may be a first year spell, but it's still awfully distracting. Right now, in this position, I could easily freeze you or even kill you," Harry said grimly.

James shot up immediately. Then Harry remembered. He was only eleven. "Right," Harry said, trying to lighten the mood. "Try it on me."

"_Rictusempra!" _James shouted, but nothing happened. James cursed.

"Your wand movement is wrong," Harry explained. He demonstrated once again. Then James repeated the spell and immediately, Harry felt a tickling sensation to his sides.

"Why aren't you on the ground?" James asked, releasing his hold on the spell.

Harry shrugged. "I've been trained?" Harry said tentatively. In truth, Harry had to grow a strong immunity to different spells and also, James' spell was still slightly weak. Anyways, Harry _had_ to stay strong. What would the wizards say when they heard Voldemort defeated Harry Potter with just a tickling charm?

"Can we try something else?" James asked.

And the afternoon continued like that. Harry instructing a spell and teaching its importance and James learning it. James was a quick learner and Harry learned that James was truly brilliant. Sirius and Remus were right when they had said James was intelligent.

…

The days flew by – Harry had taught James most of the first year spells already and James was more than prepared. Unfortunately, James was practicing them everywhere.

"James Potter!" Dorea rebuked. "Stop or I will take your wand away!" she threatened. Safe to say, James immediately stopped. "Are you all packed?" she asked.

"Harry helped me," James said happily. Dorea looked at Harry gratefully.

"Then I assume you both are. The Hogwarts Express leaves soon. We have to go. I'm afraid your dad can't make it though," Dorea said sadly. James looked immediately sad.

"He won't be there? For my first ride to Hogwarts?" he asked sadly. It was true. It was a milestone, and he won't be there to see it. Harry felt pity for his father. Though Harry did not have a dad or mum to send him off, he at least had the Weasleys. Then he realized. _Sirius and Remus._ They would meet Sirius and Remus! And Peter but Harry could always get him to leave.

"It's alright, James. We'll make new friends," Harry reassured. "Mrs. Potter? Can you check on Mr. Potter? I have a feeling he needs help with something," Harry said.

A sudden sound of a crash filled the air, followed by a: "SORRY!"coming from Charlus Potter himself. Dorea sighed and left Harry and James alone.

"I have a good idea for a prank," Harry said immediately. Pranks may have been immature but Harry always wanted to do one with his dad. Now he had the chance.

James was surprised. "I thought _I_ was the bad one." The "twins" had established a compromise. James was the bad one and Harry was the sweet little angel.

"Whatever," Harry said impatiently. "This is a good one. We both pretend to be you."

James thought about it. "Confusing other people is fine with me, but I don't have glasses and your eyes are green."

Harry pointed to his eyes with his wand. "_Colovaria,_" Harry said. It was a fifth year OWL spell, but James didn't have to know that. Harry could feel his eye colour changing and he commanded it to turn hazel. Harry quickly Disillusioned his glasses so that no one could see them.

"Wow," James said then. "I want to learn that spell."

Harry grinned.

"James," Dorea said, coming back. She was facing Harry and addressing him. "Go get your trunk from upstairs."

The real James stifled a giggle. Then Dorea turned to the real James. "And Harry. Wait. James? Wait!" Dorea paused. She narrowed her eyes. "You know what," she relented. "I don't even want to know. Just get your trunks quickly. We're leaving now."

Both Harry and James' trunks were across the large living room. And since both their trunks were very heavy with books and things, they groaned at the prospect of having to carry them all the way there and back to the fireplace where they could Floo. The living room was way too large.

James began trudging dejectedly to his trunk but Harry immediately stopped him. "_Wingardium Leviosa_," he pointed and the trunk floated over to Harry immediately. James brightened and copied the spell, bringing his own trunk to him.

"You can't use magic for everything, James and… James," Dorea said.

"Don't worry, Mum," Harry and James chorused. Dorea looked downright confused. _So this was how the twins' felt when everyone confused them,_ Harry thought with a gleeful grin. "I just wanted to teach James the spell and this was so that he could practice it," James said innocently.

Harry grinned. James was playing along perfectly. "Well then, Harry," Dorea said, turning to James.

"Wait, I'm Harry," Harry interrupted.

"Okay, Harry," Dorea said, turning back to Harry.

"No, Mrs. Potter! That's James. _I'm_ Harry!" James protested.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Dorea huffed. "Get into the fireplace."

James and Harry high-fived each other and they Flooed to King's Cross Station.

Harry hated the Floo. Though it was better than portkeys, the Floo was a close second to being Harry's most hated way of travelling.

Harry climbed out of the fireplace covered in grime and soot, and saw the bright red train in front of him. "_Scourgify_," Harry said absentmindedly and all the dirt disappeared. Then he saw other first years staring at him. Harry swore under his breath. He wasn't suppose to do that.

"_Scourgify_," Dorea said, cleaning James up. "Oh. You're already cleaned up," Dorea said to Harry. Dorea's eyes held wariness. Harry was doing an awful job of being innocent. He wanted to face palm but he couldn't with Dorea Potter watching. "Now get onto the train, boys. And _no mischief!"_

"Yes, Mum," they chorused – still pretending to be the same person.

Dorea left with a sigh and Harry and James boarded the train, lugging their trunks and dropping it into the very last compartment of the train. Harry and James sat wearily on the seat. "I wished there was something to make trunks weightless," James complained.

"Magic," Harry said obviously. "There's a feather-light charm."

"Really?" James asked, perking up. "Can you cast it now?"

Harry shook his heads. "We can't cast magic. We're underage."

James pouted. Then suddenly, a boy with black locks of hair peeked through the door. "Mind if join you?" Harry almost gasped but caught himself.

Sirius Black. With the same crooked grin and the same gray eyes and the same beautiful hair.

"Sit," Harry said immediately. "I'm James Potter," Harry grinned.

"And I'm James Potter," James said. Sirius looked at Harry then James, then Harry then James.

"Well, to you James'," Sirius said. "I'm Sirius Black."

"Hi Sirius," they chorused.

Harry dropped his colour charm for a moment, letting Sirius see his green eyes. "I'm Harry," he said.

"Alright then," Sirius said. Sirius sat down beside James, right across from Harry.

Then another knock came on their compartment door. Remus Lupin. Remus no longer had the gray streaks in his hair or the intense dark circles under his eyes – though this Remus looked tired as well. He still had the sandy brown hair and the green eyes though, and he was definitely still Remus. Harry opened it immediately. "Hey," Harry said, letting Remus come in.

"Hi," Remus said shyly. "Hope you don't mind me joining you."

"Of course not," Sirius said, slapping Remus on the back in a friendly manner.

"Shouldn't we put our trunks on the rack," James said, eying the racks above the heads of the four boys.

"Nah. Too heavy to lift," Harry said. With all four boys and their trunks, there was no space in their compartment anymore.

"We can just," James started but Harry cut him off with a glare. "Alright then," James said.

"Anyways, I'm Harry Potter," Harry introduced to Remus. "That's James Potter and that's Sirius Black," Harry pointed.

"I'm Remus Lupin," Remus said.

"I have a feeling we're all going to be good friends," Harry said joyfully.

Then another knock came on their compartment door. Remus sat down beside Harry. Harry glared at the person outside their door. Peter Pettigrew.

"Compartment's full, sorry!" Harry said, aiming for a regretful tone. Luckily he studied Occlumency, or else anger would be so easily traced on his face. He masked his emotions quickly and Peter left quietly. Harry gave a sigh of relief.

The other three boys stared at Harry strangely. "What?" Harry asked innocently. "Now who wants to play Exploding Snap?"

Peter Pettigrew, out of the picture. Harry was on his way to changing the future and hopefully, for the better. Harry was not going to let anyone be disappointed because of him. Not this time around.

**NOTE: REWRITTEN!**


	3. Suspicions

The Sorting Hat had some difficulty sorting him – like always. But it took nearly no time to sort Sirius and James into Gryffindor. Remus probably was a divvy between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff (because Remus was too kind and fair) and Ravenclaw (of course). Peter had surprisingly been put into Slytherin. For his ambition? Harry had to guess. It was definitely not for his cunning.

Harry wondered why Peter had been sorted into Gryffindor the first time. Maybe because he was already friends with James, Sirius and Remus and the hat took his choice in.

Unfortunately, the Sorting Hat once again wanted to put him in Slytherin.

_Unbelievable, _Harry thought._ You sorted me once. Can you just please put me in Gryffindor?_

_ Well,_ the hat had replied, _Don't you want to experience new things? I mean, Ravenclaw isn't half bad. They could use a brain like you. And Hufflepuff – they should get some glory too! Wait, did that rhyme?_

Harry internally groaned. After ten more minutes of incessant arguing, the hat finally complied. _Slytherin wouldn't be so bad too,_ the hat grumbled before it declared: GRYFFINDOR!

Inside, Harry was saying: Finally. No doubt the hat could hear it too.

Harry had went before James and while his long wait, James was already making a move on his mother. The only thing Harry heard, once he was taking off the hat, was a very loud, "NO, POTTER! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" coming from Harry's tiny, eleven year old mother – well, mother-to-be.

Harry could only assume James had already asked Lily out – and received a big handprint for it because when James walked up to the Sorting Hat, he was sporting a big, wide smile and a red handprint on his face.

Harry sat down beside the angry Lily. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter," Harry said, offering a hand.

"Lily Evans," Lily said warily. "You aren't going to ask me to kiss you like the other Potter boy did right?" she asked. Harry only smiled. Like James, Sirius and well, every child Harry has met, Lily had that look of childlike innocence – innocence Harry had lost long before.

"I'm the better brother," Harry joked. "But give James a chance. He may be dumb and immature now, but I'm sure you'll like him."

Lily smiled at Harry, though kind, it was one of those smiles that said: Why are you so naïve?

Sirius was already sitting beside Harry, though it looked like he just noticed Lily and Harry were conversing.

"Where's Snape?" Sirius asked. Sirius, James and Snape (Harry couldn't bring himself to call him Severus in his mind, though he called Snape Severus outside of it) came to an immediate disagreement. Originally, Sirius and James had played a mean prank on Snape on the train, but Harry made them stay inside their own compartment, bribing them with Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

But it didn't really help. The moment the four of them (Remus was still so quiet, though Harry had gotten him to speak a bit more) stepped out of the boat, James fell in love. Lily and Snape were in the boat right in front of them, and the moment James saw her face it was immediate love (which Harry still didn't really understand – like, how do you fall in love at eleven? You think she's pretty and just go for it? Or are there really soul mates and James' soul just 'connected' with Lily's. Harry didn't understand, but he let it go easily.)

Not only was it love though, it was jealousy. Lily and Snape were holding hands. Snape already had the '_Oh Merlin's beard, this girl is amazing' _look on his face and Lily's held nothing but friendship. From a nonbiased point of view, Harry thought it looked cute. But this was his mother. And honestly, Harry found it disgusting.

So did James because immediately, James used the boils charm on him. Which made Lily scream. Harry waved his hand because everybody was looking at Snape already and Harry didn't think anyone noticed. He had been practicing his wandless magic and also wordless magic. The moment Harry's hand was raised, Snape's boils were gone.

Lily was still angry though and looked at James with her famous evil eye. At least, Remus said it was famous. He said that James was the only one that could soothe her volatile moods and withstand her glares.

James wasn't withstanding it now though.

"Why would you do that?" Lily demanded. "You don't even know him!"

"Well…" James paused. There really was no excuse for his new twin brother. Harry interceded immediately with a diplomatic approach.

"Oh, joy. There's two of them," Snape muttered.

"What was that?" Sirius asked angrily.

"Calm down, Sirius," Harry whispered furiously. His eyes never strayed from Snape. One thing Moody – or rather, Bartemius Crouch Jr. – had taught him was that you should never keep your back turned on your enemy. Though Snape wasn't really an enemy, Harry was sure that Snape was not above hexing someone,.

"I'm sorry for James," Harry said apologetically.

"Harry, what are you doing?" James asked.

"You had no reason to do that! I taught you those spells to fight Death Eaters," Harry internally winced, "not other children."

"You say children like…" Remus said skeptically but Harry quickly cut him off.

"So, we should go in. No reason to stay out in the cold. Let's go," Harry said before grabbing James' arm to keep him from protesting.

Now as Harry looked back on it, he was actually fairly obvious. Those Occlumency lessons obviously haven't rubbed off on him.

"Snape, Severus," McGonagall declared. James and Sirius looked like they were just about to boo but Harry quickly shushed them with a silent _silencio._

"Can't talk now, Potter," Lily taunted. Though Sirius looked absolutely confused, James shot an angry glare at Harry before looking up to Snape to see him be placed in Slytherin.

Dejectedly, Snape walked to his new table, shooting glances at a sympathetic Lily.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin have many classes together," Harry reassured. "You'll see Severus soon enough."

The name _Severus_ felt so strange on his tongue. It was a name that Harry thought should be reserved for old people.

Harry turned back to the front to look at Dumbledore, surprised to be met by an angry stare from James. Harry had already removed the silence spell placed on him and Sirius. Then Harry realized.

James was jealous of Harry because of… Lily. That was the weirdest thing Harry had ever seen. He wanted to laugh. And unfortunately, his laughter came out during Dumbledore's speech.

All eyes turned to him – luckily, Harry had some experience in the public and schooled a straight and bored face.

"Would you like to say something, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked, his loud voice booming around the Great Hall.

"No," Harry said evenly, light amusement on his face. "Why would you think I had something to say?"

"No reason," Dumbledore replied, the same laughter reflecting in his eyes.

…

Later, Harry stopped James in the common room. "Hey, brother," Harry said.

"Hey," James grumbled.

"Can I talk to you?" Harry asked.

"You're talking to me right now, aren't you?" James shot back.

"You're not going to get any girls by being so rude, you know," Harry said, smiling slightly.

Harry sat James down in the Gryffindor common room couch – which looked no better than the old, patchy one they had in the future. Harry knew James wasn't going to come out with: _Why you hitting on my girl, bro?_

So Harry had to make the first move. "Lily's pretty, isn't she?" Harry said. Okay. Perhaps Harry enjoyed goading his brother a little too much. Harry never had a sibling to make fun of – besides Dudley, but that was just too easy – and Harry relished in the feeling of having a sibling.

"Shut up," James grumbled.

"I'm not making a move on her, James. I'm just being polite," Harry explained. James raised an eyebrow. "I think everybody already knows about your crush on Lily," Harry grinned.

"Well then," James said, forgiving Harry immediately. "I'm hungry."

"I have the perfect thing," Harry grinned. "Get Sirius and Remus down and we'll go."

James eagerly nodded, dashing back upstairs to find their sleeping friends. Harry followed behind slowly and could already hear the howls of protest that quickly faded away after the mention of _food._

Sirius was first down. "I will worship you if you show me to the food," he declared.

"Are you sure we should sneak out? Curfew passed," Remus said then, slightly nervous and James came down after him, hair extremely messy and eyes excited.

"Come on, Remus," Sirius said, easily slinging an arm around the boy. "Let's go get some food," Sirius cheered.

And they all began to sneak down to the kitchen, Harry already familiar with the place. The three other boys stared at him with wonder, but Harry was so careless because he was reunited with his family again. They won't be disappointed in him again. Never.

Harry tickled the pear and opened the door for his friends to enter, where they were served by house elves. "Can you please get my friends some food? Keep them distracted with dessert for me, alright?" Harry asked a house elf as the rest of the Marauders-to-be greeted the house elves. Even Remus looked happier.

The house elf nodded and Harry exited quietly, the rest of the Marauders not knowing a thing.

_I need the Sorting Hat,_ Harry thought intently. He already sprinted up to the seventh floor, standing in front of the wall that lead to the Room of Requirement. _Please, I need the Sorting Hat._

Harry paced the wall three times before entering and there was the Sorting Hat, sitting on the table in the exact center of the room. Harry ran to it but paused.

How was he going to get the basilisk venom? The sword by itself was merely a weapon to use, but the basilisk venom was the key ingredient. Harry faintly recalled Hermione's words. A Horcrux cannot be just smashed or crushed but destroyed beyond any repair.

"Another trip to the loo," Harry said, a grimace on his face. But this time, Harry did not have the gift of Parseltongue… Harry cursed. Perhaps Borgin and Burkes had some venom or poison, but it would be very difficult to get there.

There was always Fiendfyre though… and it was risky, but it would have to do. There had to be a way to contain it. But Harry knew – only wizards powerful enough could stop Fiendfyre. Wizards like Merlin, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Grindelwald – powerful wizards. The Fiendfyre was dark magic, hence the uncontrollable power, but Harry had to do it. It was dark, but it was useful. And it was risky.

"How do I contain Fiendfyre?" Harry asked the room.

A mirror appeared then, with a curious Harry reflected in it. But then the Harry inside the mirror held out his hand and casted the Fiendfyre. But nothing happened. Only a flame appeared in mirror Harry's hand, but a look of concentration was obvious on his face.

"Diadem," Harry whispered. "Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem," Harry announced and the diadem materialized on the table where the Sorting hat was. Harry gripped the hat tightly with one hand and his wand in the other.

Before, Harry could block it – but only for a second. Harry pointed at the diadem. No words had to be spoken. Just the simple concentration of the flame. And the diadem began burning. Harry casted a protection charm, a bubble encasing the flame. But Harry was losing the battle. As the diadem shrieked and groaned as it faded away into nothing, the Fiendfyre was growing faster and faster. Harry could see Voldemort's angry and shrieking face and Harry was glad the connection between him and Voldemort had disappeared.

Harry looked into the mirror for guidance.

There was no protection charm. It was just his wand and Harry. Harry released the protection, sending the Fiendfyre wild. But Harry pointed his wand at the fire, grasping for control. Harry had never learned this spell properly. After seeing someone _die_ in it, it was hard for him to pick it up.

The flames fought against its caster, but Harry glared at the fire, as if it would stop it. Voldemort had made it look so easy when he casted it. Dumbledore made it look like a piece of cake when he stopped it.

So Harry could do it too. But the flames grew larger and larger and Harry was forced to turn and run. Unfortunately, the room was fairly big and the Fiendfyre blocked Harry's exit. Groaning, he ran sharply to the left, then to the right, but he couldn't escape the fire. This time, he had no Ron and Hermione to help him.

Harry casted a protection charm around himself, and pointed to the flames that were struggling to get past his barrier.

"Stop!" Harry screamed. And with a flick of his wrist, the flames extinguished. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and the mirror shot him a wink. The diadem was gone. One down, but there was still more. Four more. The cup, the ring, the locket and the diary.

Harry shakily left then, knowing his task was not easy. He would have to learn more control on his Fiendfyre until he got it. His magic power had to increase. He was not as powerful as Dumbledore yet and he had to work on it.

Then he remembered: _James._ Harry bolted down the hallways, not even caring for Filch anymore.

By the time he got to the kitchen, he was met with three accusatory looks.

"Where have you been?" James asked.

All Harry could do was desperately think of an answer in his head until he got one. "I was…" Harry started. "Playing a prank on Filch's cat." He knew that everyone hated Filch and his cat and was actually grateful for the target this time.

"And you didn't invite us along?" Sirius said, mocking hurt. James and Sirius were already appeased but one look into Remus' face told you that he was still suspicious.

"I changed the colour," Harry offered. "Hot pink." Now he had to change Filch's cat into a hot pink colour.

"I want to do it as well," James said, sighing.

"We can still go. My charm wasn't placed that well. Probably wore off. Chased by his cat back here," Harry said, approving his own lie.

"Let's go then!" Sirius said excitedly.

James and Sirius immediately bounded off. Harry followed them but was stopped by an arm.

Remus' suspicious eyes stared at Harry. "I'm not giving up so soon," was all he said before he left to follow the other Marauders-to-be.

"Crap," Harry muttered.

**The first Horcrux was too easy, eh? Don't worry because the others are crap hard. And Remus is getting SUUUSPPIIICIIIOOOUS.**

**THANKS for all of your reviews 33**

**Think we can get... eight?**


	4. Secrets

Harry lied awake, staring at the ceiling. What was happening in the future right now with all these changes? Harry didn't know. Time was such a difficult concept to handle. Harry had three ideas: One was that the future was frozen. Another was that everything was changing – like his parents were still alive in the future because Peter was no longer in the equation. The last was that everyone was still moving in time to them, Harry Potter had suddenly disappeared.

Harry had pushed away the last theory in his mind as much as he could. He didn't want to think that his kids, his wife, his friends – all the people in the future were mourning. But every move Harry made came with a consequence. He was not suppose to be there. Perhaps he was in a parallel universe, where this was actually suppose to happen, but it was doubtful.

"You're awake too, huh," Remus said. Harry turned to his side, facing an awake Remus. The moonlight streaming in from the window was enough to illuminate his face.

"How'd you know?" Harry asked.

Remus shrugged. "Care to tell me the truth now?" he asked.

"Remus…"

"Why not, Harry? Aren't we not friends?" Remus pressed. The guilt trip. Unfortunately, even though Harry was thirty, he still felt guilty.

"Remus… I," Harry tried again, but Remus wouldn't hear of it.

"Can't you trust me? Trust the rest of us? Does James know of your secrets?"

Harry could only stay silent. His act was not good enough – there was a reason why Harry never became an actor.

"Never mind. I should have known you weren't going to tell me," Remus muttered.

"Wait, Remus," Harry began but Remus did not reply to him.

…

The next morning, Remus did not speak to Harry. James and Sirius knew something was up but wisely chose not to say anything. The timetables were handed out, but Harry did not care. His mind was too full – with the future, with the past. There was Remus to worry about and his adopted parents did not fully trust him yet. Not only that but the Horcruxes…

First year lessons were not important to him compared to the other things Harry had to worry about.

Occasionally throughout the day, he would rather be back in the future, the future that Harry had left from. Changing so much was tiring because you always had to be careful. And he missed Ginny. His small kids. Ron and Hermione.

Harry sighed as he turned his match into a needle. He needed time to think. Should he tell James, Sirius and Remus or not? The things in Harry's mind were not things that an eleven year old should bear.

…

Harry was sitting next to James in Transfiguration and James had already noticed the concentrated look on his face. But Harry's match was already a sharp, silver needle.

"Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said, coming around. James' match was a needle already, though the colour was still slightly off. "Well done," McGonagall praised.

"And you, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said, turning to Harry.

James looked at Harry's needle and was surprised to see that the needle that James had seen only moments before was now a match.

"Sorry, Professor," Harry apologized. "I'm working on it."

James shot Harry a curious look, which his new twin had ignored.

Something was very fishy. Very fishy indeed.

…

"There's something wrong with Harry," James announced. Remus, Sirius and James were gathered in their dorm room – Harry still missing. Curfew had passed, but Harry Potter was still not there.

"I know," Remus said grimly. "He knows spells that we don't even learn until fifth year! That _colorvaria_ spell you told me about? It's in OWLs!" Remus exclaimed.

"He acts too old for his age," Sirius said, crossing his arms.

"And…" the three boys began to list all the strange things about Harry Potter. The haunted look in his eyes, his powerful magic and the mature way he held himself.

"We're going to question him when he gets back," Remus announced.

"What if he wipes our memory? Or hurts us?" Sirius asked. "My _dear old mum_," Sirius said scathingly, "told me about spells that could do that."

"He wouldn't hurt us," James said confidently.

"How do you know that?" Remus asked.

For that, James Potter had no answer.

…

The moment Harry Potter entered his dorm room, he was ambushed. Sirius tackled him, James jumped on top of Sirius – who was on top of Harry and Remus knelt down so that his eyes were boring into Harry's. It had taken all of Harry's restraint to not shoot any curses. When attacked, Harry was as paranoid as Alastor Moody – which only reminded Harry of the suspicions the famous Auror held for him.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"We want you to explain," Remus said then.

Harry was silent. "So you _are_ keeping secrets from us," Sirius said.

Harry looked to James. One glance at James and you could tell that he was feeling hurt because Harry had kept something from him. Harry sighed. "Get off," Harry said.

"Not until you tell us," Sirius said.

With strength Harry didn't know he possessed in his tiny eleven year old body, he shoved Sirius and James off, standing up with an angry glare. "Look," he said, body shaking and fists clenched. "I just can't tell you! You can't handle it! I know you think you're mature eleven year olds and you can take on the world but the _world is not kind._ There are things that I don't want to face at all but I have to you. I'm not willing to sacrifice my closest friends for some idiotic game that I have no control over. I cannot tell you anything and I would appreciate it if you would _give me some space._"

Harry stood there then, all the anger leaving him and guilt creeping into his heart as he stared at the open-mouthed faces of James, Sirius and Remus.

"You all have secrets that I know and I won't tell a soul," Harry said, looking deep into the eyes of Remus, Sirius and James. James was his father, but ironically he knew the least about him. "But those secrets, if I didn't know them, I wouldn't just tackle you and demand that you tell me. How would you feel if I told you that if you didn't tell me your deepest, darkest secrets, then I would stop being your friend or something equally as stupid."

"For example," Harry continued. "If one of you were actually a werewolf and I suddenly came onto you about it – how would you feel?" It was stupid to bring up a secret like that, but Harry's disappointment and anger got the best of him. Occlumency was something he had control over, but the learning process was awful. Having a hold on his volatile emotions… that was always something difficult for Harry. He had thought all the years at the Dursleys would have helped, but since he found out more and more about his life – he exploded.

"Or if you were being abused at home or whatever?" Harry demanded. "You wouldn't want me to pounce on you for the information so do the same for me. Now good night," Harry said, flopping onto his bed and pulling the covers over his head.

He didn't see the astonished faces of James and the extremely worried faces of Remus and Sirius. But all he could imagine were their voices, telling Harry that he was still a disappointment. Still a failure.

Still broken.

…

Harry began avoiding the Marauders-to-be. He spent more time with Lily and Severus, who often came to the Gryffindor table – despite the mocking from his fellow Slytherins. Harry admired the behaviour and was determined to stop the fiasco happening in fifth year.

But Harry thought about it. That was the ultimate break in his mother's and Snape's relationship. Before, some people had told him that maybe if it wasn't for that incident… Lily would have actually been with Snape. Lily would have been with him if it weren't for James. Was that incident the catalyst for the relationship between his parents?

The sad thing was that he didn't even know. He barely knew his parents but this was his chance to get to know them. Know his family.

But with that thought, his mind went back to his own family in the future. Were they still sad? Were they as empty as Harry was when Remus and Sirius died? When he found out that his parents had died because of him?

Harry tried to distract himself, striking up a conversation with Lily and Snape about potions. He knew that his mother and Snape were talented in the area. In his mid-twenties, he began exploring the art of potions and found it rather interesting as well. How the ingredients mixed and how it all worked together – it was a subtle form of magic that was usually looked over. Many wizards and witches preferred firing flashy spells but potions was useful for many more things.

Then the three boys sat down quite near Harry actually, near enough that he could overhear their conversation but far enough that it didn't look like they were sitting right next to Harry.

"Going to the Forbidden Forest later, right James?" Sirius asked. Harry schooled his face so that he did not look like he was eavesdropping.

"Yeah. I want to see the centaurs," James nodded.

Foolish James! Harry cursed inside his head. Centaurs are hardly ever seen and they are deep inside the Forbidden Forest. If they go deep enough, they could meet dangerous creatures like the Acromantulas – perhaps even a manticore or too.

"I want to see the unicorns," Remus interjected. "Though they don't like males much. They like children though," Remus perked up.

Remus? Responsible Remus wanting to do something wrong?

Then it struck Harry. They were setting up a ploy to get Harry to follow them to the Forbidden Forest for some reason. Harry would do so, just to keep them safe… but he would be under the Invisibility Cloak. It had been in the backpack he had gotten when he first arrived in 1971.

"Harry?" Lily asked, snapping her fingers in front of Harry's face. "You zoned out for a bit."

"Sorry. I was just wondering what potion Slughorn would make us do," Harry said smoothly.

"The boil cure potion again probably – just to make sure we can do it still," Snape said. Snape became more civilized to Harry once he found out that the Potters weren't all bad.

Harry cursed and Lily shot him a sharp look for his vulgar language. Harry smiled apologetically but continued speaking anyways. "I wanted to do other potions. You get bored doing the same easy potions everyday." Lily and Snape nodded in agreement.

"So, favourite class so far?" Harry asked, taking a bite of his toast.

"Charms," Lily said immediately. "In the Muggle world, their sense of magic is most like Charms," Lily explained. "It makes it more familiar for me and I like Charms," Lily smiled.

"Potions," Snape shrugged.

"You, Harry?" Lily asked.

"Defense." It was the only class that Harry didn't get bored in. He learned everything else already but he was finally experiencing his first year Defense class under a competent teacher. Miss Greene was one of the better teachers and Harry only hoped that if the one year jinx is still on the position, it would be a good teacher next year as well.

"Mine's Transfiguration," came James' voice. Snape scowled but did not reply to him. Lily was indifferent and Harry? He didn't know how to react. He just took another bite of his toast.

"I'm going to go to Potions first. I find that preparing my ingredients first helps," Harry finally said, standing up and gathering his things. "You guys finish eating and I'll meet you in the classroom."

"Great, we'll come with you," Sirius said cheerily, following Harry.

Harry did not let it affect him as he walked out of the Great Hall and to the dungeons.

"How are you doing, Harry?" Remus asked, more subdued than Sirius's cheery voice.

"Fine," Harry replied.

"You aren't still mad at us, are you?" James asked, voice slightly nervous.

Harry was slightly surprised. "I thought it was the other way around. I hated it when people kept things from me, though now I get it," he said wryly.

"We won't pry into your life anymore, Harry," Sirius said, surprisingly solemn.

"Are you really planning to go into the Forbidden Forest, though?" Harry asked.

"Why not?" James shrugged. Harry sighed. He had a lot to explain to them.

…

Harry sat in the library, the wooden chair not doing any good for his back. He was hunched over his essays and his books were scattered around the library table. Procrastinating wasn't good for him, Harry had learned, even if he knew the material like the back of his hand. It still took time to do them though and he wanted good marks. Harry discovered that there was no way out of the time zone he was in.

Harry had found out back in October. It was nearing Christmas now. He had been pouring over books in the library with most of his free time and the Marauders had learned not to question him. That's right – they had found a name for their group. They were infamous in Hogwarts now for being pranksters. James, the cheeky one. Sirius, the handsome one. Even at eleven, his features were still handsome. Extremely unfair if you asked Harry. Remus was the intelligent one and Harry was the most mysterious.

He found that many first year girls – even second year and the rare third year – asked the Marauders out. Harry found it strange that so many girls were attracted to him and his friends. He told this to James before and he said, "I don't know if you've noticed Harry, but girls like the mysterious rep you have. They probably go on about: _the sadness in his green eyes," _James said, faking his swoon, "And they want to know more about you. Besides, you're very handsome. After all, you look like me!"

They were only eleven though, and still immature little boys. Sirius enjoyed the attention of the girls though did not make any moves to progress any relationships. The rest of the Marauders were uncomfortable – especially Harry, though he should have been the one to be most comfortable if you considered his true age and maturity.

His heart still belonged to Ginny and his children and when he found out that he couldn't returned, he sat in the Room of Requirement staring at the picture of his family that Harry always kept with him in his left breast pocket – closest to his heart. He shed tears though he did not make a sound as he stared at the magical picture. His kids would squirm and Ginny would give Harry a chaste kiss. They were so happy…

Was it really worth it?

But he was already back in time and he couldn't change anything. He had to move on, though he most likely won't date anyone. He was going to save those lives that were lost. Later on though, he wanted James to name his son Harry James Potter so that perhaps that Harry could meet Ginny…

It would be very strange to see yourself – as another person – to live the life you had lived before. But that Harry won't have to deal with Voldemort. That was going to be his job. This was all so complicated. Harry's brain actually hurt.

"Harry?" came a tentative voice. Harry looked up to see Remus, who sat down across from Harry.

"I wanted to you something," Remus said, back stiff.

"Of course," Harry said, gesturing for him to continue. He quickly finished his potions essay and he had the Transfiguration essay left and that was it. For the night at least.

_The Switching Spell is a convenient spell that…_

"How did you know I'm a werewolf?" Remus asked. Harry spilled the ink over his Transfiguration essay then, snatching up the rest of his homework so that they wouldn't be ruined by the ink. Harry grabbed another piece of parchment, not looking into Remus' eyes.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, starting his essay again. "You're a werewolf?" he asked, keeping mild surprise on his face.

"I gave it a lot of thought. Whenever I leave for the full moon, you place bandages at the Shrieking Shack. Sirius and James told me that you always go there. And who else would do it? And in September when we uh… tackled you," Remus said apologetically, "You said something about a werewolf. I'm guessing you knowing has something to do with your secret which I won't ask but you knowing about me being a werewolf involves me so I hoped you would tell me a bit."

Harry sighed. "Well, to be honest, I didn't even need my 'secret' to know that you're a werewolf. You're always tired after the full moon and when you go back home to 'visit your sick mom' or if you're 'in the infirmary' you aren't actually there. No one bothers to check. You also have scratches on your face. They don't look bad, trust me. I overheard some girls tell their friends that it made you look dangerous and they said," Harry faked a girly voice then, sounding much like the Valley Girls that Ginny and Hermione had forced him to watch. (Don't even ask.) "_Ooh, did you see Remus Lupin? That boy has a wild side too. Isn't that so irresistible? Like, I can't believe it?"_ Harry said in his high pitched squeal. "_He's like ruggedly handsome!"_

Remus covered his innocent ears, blushing madly. "I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore," Remus nodded, a brave mask on his face.

Harry was surprised. Sirius had told him before and Harry knew from experience that Remus had self-esteem problems but to have that self-conscious Remus back was slightly discomforting. He had looked up to Remus and expected him to always be strong. It was unfair but that was how Harry saw him: strong and intelligent. Another father figure – much like Sirius. But this Remus was only eleven.

"Why would I stop being friends at you? So you howl at the moon every month. I don't understand the prejudices of werewolves," Harry said. "I mean, so you sprout fur but you have no control over it. Why blame you?"

Remus was silent. Harry was glad Remus didn't start bawling and thanking him or hugging him or some overdramatic gesture. "Thanks," Remus said. A calm Remus reply. Harry grinned. "I'll see you later. And you should learn not to procrastinate," Remus said sternly, though Harry knew he was just joking. "James and Sirius know that their essays are due tomorrow as well but you're better. At least you're doing it. They're still in the common room with unfinished essays but they're playing Exploding Snap."

Harry's smile widened. "I'll come up with you. I'll finish my Transfiguration essay upstairs. I'm sure that we can scare them into doing their homework together."

Harry and Remus walked back to their common room, both with lightened hearts. Harry had established a stronger friendship with Remus and he found himself proud that the werewolf was beginning to grow more confidence.

"Are you going to tell James and Sirius?" Harry asked as they entered the common room.

"Tell us what?" Sirius said, suddenly appearing with James.

Remus looked nervous but looked to Harry for moral support. Harry nodded. "I'm a werewolf," Remus said bluntly.

Sirius and James stared. "Wicked!" was their reply. Remus was immediately relieved but annoyed afterwards because Sirius and James continued to sprout questions.

"Why howl at the moon?" Sirius asked.

"Does your tail wag a lot?" James questioned.

"Can I can you Moony?" Harry said and all questions were stopped.

"Isn't that kind of obvious?" James asked.

"No one but us will know. And I have an idea that can help Remus with his transformations," Harry smirked.

"I know that smile," James said. "It's the 'Harry has an idea that can totally amaze the world' smile."

"Perhaps we will just amaze the world," Harry shrugged. Everyone's faces brightened.

**SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT NEWS. DON'T SKIP THIS! **

**I rewrote the beginning a little bit differently to make it more realistic. the Potters are more wary of him now so you don't HAVE to go back and read it but just a heads up - they aren't AS close. (Charlus and Dorea with Harry)**

**So. Yeah. AAAND.**

**Any ideas for Harry's animagus? I was going to go with a stag for his animagus and call him Prongslet cuz it would have more meaning and symbolism for it, but I'm up for suggestions.**

**PLEASE no magical animals. I mean, it's great for Harry to be all powerful but sometimes it gets to be too much and hes like a boy version of Mary Sue.**

**I'm going to make his temper very volatile though, so no SUPER PEACEFUL animals either. **

**AH and include the name with the animal! thanks! and tell me if u like my suggestion. **


	5. Quidditch Transformations

"I can't do it!" Sirius said exasperatedly. "I only know I'm a ground animal and that I'm black. That's it," Sirius said, pouting.

"It's very advance magic, Sirius," Harry said. "It's really hard. I'm struggling too."

"I still think you shouldn't do it," Remus said, crossing his arms. Remus was still embarrassed from some of the questions from James and Sirius, including: _Do werewolves sniff each others' butts? _

Remus was very unsure when he bluntly told James and Sirius. He wasn't sure if they were going to react like Harry did or take it horribly, like some of his family members did. Harry was different because he _had_ to question him. He had already knew and Remus needed to ask. But James and Sirius were different. Remus had summoned up as much Gryffindor courage he could and told them. Their reaction was not expected and Harry had only shot Remus the '_I-told-you-so'_ look. Remus could only wonder how the eleven year old boy knew so much.

"Being _unregistered_ Animagi is illegal!" Remus protested. They were all sitting in an abandoned classroom on the fourth floor.

"Shh, Remus," James said, hushing him. "I'm getting close to seeing my animal."

Sirius and Harry immediately began to place bets. "I bet it's a bird of some sort. Some kind of dumb bird," Sirius betted. James, who had heard, punched Sirius' arm. "Ow! Just focus on your freaking animal!"

"I'm on the land, Sirius," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh… Then, you're a penguin! Or a duck!" Sirius said, smiling triumphantly.

"There's no water near me. Oh wait… there's a creek," James said, eyes blank as he stared off into nowhere. The potion Harry had to make for being Animagus was difficult and a very advanced one, but Harry didn't tell Remus how he got them. Just something about instructions from a family vault that he never got to try out. Harry was always vague and Remus had learned to accept it. Surprisingly and unfortunately, Harry pulled through with it and now his friends were trying their hardest to get it.

For eleven year old boys to sit still and meditate must have been hard and Remus was always feeling guilty. Sirius, James and Harry had reassured them that it was fun to learn how to be an animal and Harry had joked that James and Sirius were already not far from it. Harry always seemed to be able to lighten a mood, yet he himself looked sad.

Harry was truly an enigma.

It was definitely difficult magic. The potion was suppose to let you see what animal you had and then you had to meditate, focusing on your animal and change yourself into the animal and change yourself back. You had to keep practicing until your transformation was fluid.

Sirius and James were talented in Transfiguration and Harry told Remus that, despite his good grades in Transfiguration, he was not as good as his fellow Marauders. Remus only shot Harry a puzzled look and Harry did not reply, which made Remus even more confused. Harry had always scored higher marks than Sirius and James – in everything, actually – but Harry didn't seem to take note of it.

"I have…" James continued, eyes now shut in concentration. "Hooves?"

"No birds have hooves," Harry said, taunting Sirius.

"Magical bird?" Sirius suggested, face already slightly hopeless.

"There are no magical animals that humans can transform into, Sirius," Remus said, grinning despite the sad look on Sirius' face.

"It doesn't that James is a stag though," Sirius argued.

"I have antlers…" James continued in his trance-like voice. Sirius cursed.

"Hooves and antlers, Sirius," Harry grinned triumphantly. "Hand the money over."

"Could be reindeer?" Sirius asked pleadingly. "Come on, James. Be reindeer."

"Reindeer are still deer. And the male form of deer are stags," Remus said apologetically.

"A horse with antlers?" Sirius asked.

"Give it up, Sirius," Harry said happily and Sirius grumbled as he tossed Harry some sickles.

"I'm a stag," James said happily.

"Now you have to do all the research you can on stags – even the insides. You have to know the stag inside and out before you transform," Harry instructed. James nodded earnestly.

"I can't wait, Moony," James said, elbowing Remus' side. Remus sighed. The boys wouldn't budge on this and Remus was growing more worried by the second. What if they stayed in mid-transformation? They would be expelled! And it would be because of Remus.

"Can you not do this, please?" Remus begged.

Harry placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Moony," Harry said. Remus sighed at the nickname. He liked it, though it was slightly obvious. Actually, no slightly about it. "This isn't just for you. Becoming Animagus is really useful."

"And you can't wait until you're of age and get your license _before_ transforming.

"Oh, Moony," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Do you not know us at all? We're immature eleven year olds who have no patience in their body. Well, we do, but we're using it all up to be Animagus. I mean, it's so difficult," Sirius whined. "Stupid meditation."

…

They finally had Remus give into the idea once James had insisted that his stag was 'bloody awesome.'

All Harry had gotten out of his potion was that he had black fur and that he was often on trees as well as the ground. Also, he had ferocious paws.

Sirius found out his animal – a large, black dog (what a surprise!) – a week after James did. Harry was the only one who didn't know his animal yet.

Harry was sitting alone in the Room of Requirement, downing the last of the potion. He was feeling a bit left behind because the other Marauders had already started researching on their animal and becoming Animagi.

Then Harry concentrated with all his might.

_He was in a forest, and there was a rabbit he was chasing. Harry was lithe and fast in his animal form, his claws sharp and digging into the earth. The smell of trees was all around him and Harry was silent as he stalked his prey. Harry slinked around a tree, making the rabbit confused. He could tell that his animal was cunning, and he crouched low to the ground before pouncing._

_ Harry's black paw came down on the rabbit's head, crushing the skull immediately._

_ Then Harry widened his jaw and grabbed the rabbit with his mouth. Then he climbed into a nearby tree, jumping incredibly high before landing on a branch. He was able to walk on it like how people walked on tightropes. His furry tail helped him a lot with the balance as he tore into his prey._

_ Harry leaped off the tree, landing on all fours. He purred then. So he was some type of cat…_

_ Hopefully he wasn't one of those cats like McGonagall. He had nothing against it but it was kind of embarrassing. A stag, a large dog and… _ a cat. _Harry imagined the howling laughter of Sirius if he found out that Harry was just a common household cat. But that wasn't possible. Household cats were predators, but they weren't the size of Harry and they definitely did not chase some of the prey that Harry chased._

_ Harry was definitely a carnivore. He ran to a creek – shocked by his astonishing speed – to wash the blood off his muzzle. Staring at his reflection in the water, he realized. He was a large black cat with glowing green eyes. There was an exact name for it, but it was slipping through Harry's mind like water through fingers._

_ His fur was brown – a very dark brown and it looked black at most times. He also had faint spots around his eyes, very similar to his glasses._

Then Harry was shaken out of his stupor. The alarm Harry had set in the Room of Requirement had gone off, signaling lunch.

…

Harry joined Sirius and James in the library for research. "It's a black animal," he told his fellow Marauders. "Really strong paws and I had great balance. Definitely a predator and I can walk on tree branches."

"Bird," Sirius said immediately.

"What's with you and birds," Remus said, smacking Sirius' arm. Sirius rubbed the spot, shooting a playful scowl at his friend.

"I ate a _rabbit_, Sirius," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Cats have good balance," Remus suggested.

"Yeah, I know I'm some type of cat…" Harry frowned then. He slid out another book from the library shelf.

"You guys still shouldn't be doing this! We're only first years," Remus said, crossing his arms.

"We probably won't even become full Animagi until… like fourth year," Harry estimated. Originally, Sirius, James and… _Peter_ had become full Animagi in fifth. But Harry had set Sirius and James on a head start and with his help (just a smidge) and without Peter's hindrance, they were most likely to finish at fourth year.

"We're too young for this stuff! Haven't you heard about all the accidents that come with being an Animagus?" Remus said, whispering furiously. Madam Pince, the librarian, shot them an angry look. Though younger, the librarian was still as furious about her library and books in the 1970's as she was in the 1990's.

"We're taking the risk for you, Moony," James said distractedly, turning a page in his book. Remus huffed, knowing that none of the Marauders were going to listen to him.

Then suddenly, Sirius shouted. "I found it!"

Madam Pince came immediately, reprimanding Sirius for his loudness. "This is a library, Mr. Black! Not a zoo! You are banned from here!"

Then Sirius' eyes began to water. "I'm sorry…" Sirius said, shuffling his feet. "I was so excited about finding this potion in the books… I can't believe I could find so many things in here. It's really wonderful in here," Sirius said, looking up at the librarian with his watery, gray eyes. James and Harry were exchanging bets under the table to see if Sirius gets banned or not. Harry was betting that Sirius would but James was confident in his best friend's acting ability. Remus was watching it with his head in his hands.

"Please don't ban me," Sirius said with a soft voice. A tear leaked out of his eyes. Harry swore in his head. Tears, sadness and remorse. The librarian was done for.

Harry looked at Madam Pince, who's hard, beady eyes had softened and patted Sirius' shoulder. "Alright, Mr. Black. I'm glad you love it here. Continue with your research," Madam Pince said gently, as if not wanting to damage the perfectly fine boy in front of her.

Suddenly, Madam Pince hugged Sirius tightly with her bony arms. Sirius shot the Marauders a wink, quietly sniffling. Remus, James and Harry simultaneously rolled their eyes. Then as quickly as she appeared, Madam Pince disappeared, leaving Sirius with a proud smirk, Harry with one less Galleon and James one Galleon richer.

"What did you find?" Harry asked in a hush tone.

"Your animal. It's a panther. Black panther," Sirius said, showing his page to Harry. Harry stared at the moving picture of a panther, prowling along the forest floor, just like Harry had done in his mind.

"That was actually an intelligent guess," Remus praised.

Sirius smirked. "Why, thank you, Moony!" Then he got it. "Wait…"

James quietly guffawed as Harry snickered.

"I didn't know Moony had a sense of humour," Sirius said, shoving his friend playfully. "But you're a cat and I'm a dog. How will that work?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. "I'm surprised I'm a panther actually. My Patronus is a…" Harry didn't speak anymore, keeping his eyes trained on the page with the panther. Harry cursed his own mouth. It was too easy to talk to Sirius, James and Remus.

"Patronus' are awfully advanced, Harry," Remus said, suspicion in his eyes.

"Animagi are awfully advanced too," Harry shrugged. "I'm going to go up to the dorm and study up. I'm going to try the fur today at least," Harry said, picking up the book Sirius left for him and quickly departing, trying to ignore the burning stares on the back of his head.

To become Animagi, you had to have extreme determination, focus and meditation. You were suppose to imagine yourself becoming the animal – to the very last drop of blood. You had to _feel_ yourself change and Harry was determined to make the fur appear on his skin at least. To change back, all you had to do was think about how _you_ looked like.

It was truly willpower, Harry thought to himself. After so many years of Hermione telling Harry and Ron that Transfiguration was about theory, Harry felt proud that he had discovered it was not theory, but willpower that transfigured the thing you desired. And now Harry wanted to transfigure himself.

Sitting on his bed, he crossed his legs and shut his eyes. Envisioning the black panther he had seen in the book, he imagined the fur sprouting all over his arms and legs then. The dark, silky feel of it – down to the very last dark gray spots around his eyes that were eerily similar to his glasses. He imagined the black panther he had seen in his dream, trying to imagine it all.

"Harry," came a voice. It was a rude awakening, but Harry found himself grateful for it. His entire body was drained, and it felt like it was depleted. There was a reason why there was a test for people who wanted to become Animagus. And that test were for people of age only. People younger than seventeen often had smaller magical cores and Harry's magical core, while more powerful than other eleven year old's, had shrunk since he had came from the future, to his disappointment.

James shook his arm. Harry was disappointed to find himself _not_ covered with black fur, but his pale white skin instead.

"Don't be so disappointed, Harry," Sirius said, giving Harry a blinding smile. It was shocking to see his godfather this way. And wonderful to. His happy, innocent smile with a face that had never gone to Azkaban. Harry was going to make sure it didn't happen that way this time.

"It's hard – even to imagine fur. James and I tried it already, but it didn't work," Sirius said. It didn't really help Harry though. He had nineteen more years of experience on them.

Harry dizzily stood up. He leaned on James for a bit before straightening. "Where's Moony?"

"Why am I called Moony?" came Remus as he entered through the room's door. "I mean, I'm fine with it, but why don't you guys have nicknames."

Then Harry grinned. "Let's vote on names," Harry said. Together, the four of them sat down on Harry's bed.

"Let's just call Harry _'Four-Eyes,_'" Sirius suggested. Harry rolled his eyes. "Then we can call James _'Knobby Knees.'"_ James crossed his arms, face turning red. "Don't worry, Knobby Knees. Four-Eyes has knobby knees too. It's just yours are _more_ knobby. Does that make sense?" Sirius wondered. He didn't stop for any retorts though. "And we can call me '_Mr. Handsome.'"_

"No!" the other Marauders shouted, all of them smacking Sirius.

"Ow!" came Sirius' sharp screech and he quieted, mumbling profanities as he rubbed his sore spots.

"Wow, Knobby Knees. Looks like you got knobby elbows too," Sirius joked. Before James could smack him again, Harry interrupted.

"We should go by our Animagi," Harry suggested.

"Good idea," Remus sighed. "Probably the most intelligent I've heard all night." Sirius scowled.

"James first," Sirius said. "You're a stag so… Hooves? Antlers? Rudolph?"

James scowled, smacking Sirius. "Stop doing that!" Sirius shouted, rubbing another sore spot on his arm. "Fine. No Rudolph. You know you want Prancer, though." Then Sirius immediately got off the bed at James' blushing and angry expression before running around the red and gold dorm room, chased by a scarlet James.

Eventually they stopped, and joined Remus and Harry again. "Wait," Sirius paused. "I actually have an intelligent idea."

The other Marauders watched him warily, prepared to smack him.

"What about Prongs?"

Harry, Remus and James' upraised fists froze as they registered the nickname. "Not bad," James thought.

"It's _actually_ decent," an incredulous Remus said.

"Don't sound so surprised!" Sirius said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's perfect," Harry confirmed.

"Prongs it is," Sirius said joyfully, clapping his hands. "I _told_ you that I had good ideas!" He was met with three pillows to the face.

"Moving onto Sirius," Harry said then. "Describe the mutt."

It was Sirius' turn to chase Harry then, but years of running from Dudley Dursley, his fat, horrible cousin (who still lived alone when Harry had three kids) and Death Eaters made Harry fast.

"Black fur," Sirius started.

"No, duh," James scoffed.

"Will you let me finish!" Sirius exclaimed, shoving James playfully. "I'm pretty big too."

"Then the Big Black," James suggested. James was rewarded with several loud 'No's!'"

"I have a tail – always wagging," Sirius grinned.

"The Big, Black, Wagging Tail," James said then.

"Shut up, James," Sirius scowled.

"I have padded feet too," Sirius said and before James could say: _The Big, Black, Wagging Padded Feet,_ Remus interrupted.

"Padfoot," he said.

"I like it," Sirius and James said immediately. They turned to Harry who confirmed the name.

"Now Harry," Remus said, looking at the youngest boy in the room. Harry looked uncomfortable then. He was intruding on Peter's spot – not that he minded, of course – but still, it was weird to be part of the Marauders. To have a nickname would seal the deal. And besides, he wasn't that creative. He couldn't think of a good nickname.

"Paws," Remus said. "You _did_ say your panther had strong paws."

"Lame!" Sirius and James booed. Remus scowled.

"I don't need one…" Harry began but he was cut off by the other Marauders' talking.

"Paws. He said he could climb trees. What about Treepaws?" James asked.

"No," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Too… not amazing enough."

"Shouldn't I be part of this discussion too?!" Harry said, waving his hands to get their attention but the other Marauders continued on as if Harry was not there.

"Strongpaws?" Remus said.

James and Sirius thought about it but then shook their heads. "Sounds too macho for Harry," Sirius said.

"Hey!" Harry objected.

"What about his tail? Furrypaws?" James said, laughing at the nickname, despite the fact that it was his own creation. "Okay… Greenpaws? His eyes are green. The books said the eyes weren't going to change in Animagi transformations."

"Colour…" Remus said thoughtfully.

"Blackpaws?" James asked then. All eyes turned to Harry.

"So _now_ you ask for my opinion," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

Then Remus checked the clock. "Dinner time," Remus said. With those two words, James and Sirius were out the door – without listening to Harry's opinion. Remus got up more calmly, but left Harry sitting alone as well, rolling his eyes.

The Marauders were always interested in the optional flying lessons. They had taken it since the beginning of the year. Harry, James and Sirius always found it boring. Remus didn't even bother –

preferring his books to Quidditch. None of the other Marauders understood his reasoning.

Now, in early March (Valentine's Day had passed with several Valentine's directed to the Marauders – most going to an arrogant Sirius and a blushing Harry. James only smirked, mouthing to Harry about _mysterious eyes._), the flying teacher was going to let the first years play a game.

"Reed and Black," Hooch commanded. Yup, it was the same flying teacher from Harry's years, though she looked much younger. "You two are captains. Don't make me regret it," Hooch said, "Or you won't be able to fly until it's seventh year."

Reed and Black nodded, both grinning wildly.

"Take your picks," Hooch said, gesturing to the boys and girls assembled. Reed got to choose first.

"Ricky Duff for Chaser," Reed called. They were suppose to choose their own players and there was the perfect amount to have two teams. There were fourteen people in total in the lesson.

From what Harry knew, Duff was a good player. He had good speed, but he liked holding the Quaffle too much, refusing to pass to his teammates. In Quidditch, players like that often are the players that make the rest of the team lose. It wasn't a wise choice for Reed, but Harry didn't bother to call it out.

"James Potter," Sirius said confidently, "For Chaser."

"Frederick Dustin, Beater," Reed said. Harry cursed under his breath. Dustin was a good player and an excellent Beater. From the flying lessons, Harry had observed everyone and knew their weaknesses and strengths. And also, their personalities. Putting Dustin with Duff wasn't a good idea. Duff was too proud and Dustin too stubborn. They would clash immediately.

"Harry Potter for Seeker," Sirius said gleefully. Harry joined Sirius' side. Reed didn't look upset. Probably because Reed didn't observe Harry at all, whereas Sirius and James were always partnered with Harry for flying exercises.

"Trent Bones for Beater," Reed said.

Before Sirius could call a name, Harry nudged him. "Samantha Bones for Beater," he whispered.

"But she's a girl," Sirius protested.

"She's still an amazing Beater," Harry said.

Sirius gave in after a glare from Harry. "Samantha Bones for Beater."

The girls were often last for pick and Samantha seemed surprise when she stood behind the Marauder's team.

Reed continued to choose boys and Harry continued to point out the girls. Before long, the teams were chosen. Sirius grumbled as he picked up his broom. For Chasers on Sirius' red team, (this was the Gryffindor lesson – _just_ Gryffindor, which Harry was really happy about) there was James Potter, Elizabeth Roberts and Katherine Wood. Harry had wondered if Katherine had any relation to Oliver Wood, but he put it aside for later. For Beaters, there was Sirius Black and Samantha Bones. Harry was the Seeker. Clinton Weatherby (and Harry almost choked at the last name) was Keeper.

All in all, the team was a good one. Harry was grinning though Sirius had a frown on his face. Their team was a light team and the other team was filled with brawn. They had no girls on their side, but Harry could already see the conflict in the opposing team. Whatever muscle they had, Sirius' team would make it up for speed.

"In the air," Hooch commanded.

Harry immediately shot off into the air with his cleverly disguised Firebolt. It looked like an old school broom, but it was actually Harry's beloved present from his future godfather. Harry sighed inwardly. Jumping back in time was so complicated.

Hooch released all the balls and they were off. It was relishing to be playing a game again, Harry thought as he flew, cutting through the air.

James had the Quaffle and was doing well until he tried to pass it to a fellow Chaser but was intercepted by Duff. "Sirius! Dopplebeater Defence!" Harry hollered. Sirius and Samantha immediately got it, flying together as if they were connected before hitting the Bludger so hard at Duff that he almost fell off his broom and dropped the Quaffle, right into Katherine Wood's waiting arms. Katherine was one of the lightest players and was met by the two burliest Chasers on Reed's team. But Katherine was smart and feinted, her speed astounding on the old school broom.

"Porksoff Play!" Harry shouted. Katherine sped upwards then, followed by the Chasers, waiting to intercept. Reed, the Keeper, followed Katherine's move, but then suddenly, Katherine chucked the Quaffle straight down into Elizabeth Roberts' hands and Elizabeth chucked it into the open goalpost.

Harry raised a fist in the air, hooting for his teammates. James shot several more goals in and unfortunately, so did the other team.

Then a glimmer of gold caught his eye. The other team's Seeker was already on their way though and infinitely closer to the Snitch than Harry was. Harry was on the other side of the large Quidditch field. Harry shouted for Sirius, but Sirius didn't need any prompting.

Sirius performed the incredible Bludger Backbeat then, successfully confusing the opposing team's seeker. It was a tricky move to do. You were suppose to hit the Bludger with a backhand swing and it sent the Bludger behind Sirius. The deadly precision of it made Harry want to shout with joy but he was too focused on the Snitch. The other Seeker, Scallaway, Harry believed it to be, had dodged out of the way, but the Snitch was already gone.

James high-fived Sirius, who was beaming from the praise.

James, Sirius and Harry had studied up on their Quidditch tactics and found them incredibly useful. If Harry ever got back to the future, he was _so_ teaching Fred and George the Dopplebeater Defence. But then Harry frowned. Fred was… dead. And George… he was missing an ear.

"Harry! The Snitch!" James hollered.

It was 100-90 for Sirius' team, but if Scallaway caught the snitch, they would win. And Harry couldn't allow that. But the Snitch was all the way on the ground and Scallaway was already zooming to it. But Scallaway was going slower, because if Scallaway dived, he probably wouldn't be able to pull himself back up in time.

Harry, however, had no hesitating qualms. Harry dove down immediately, his broomstick almost vertical and his body cutting through the wind.

"Harry no!" he heard James shout.

It was too late though. Harry was already there, knocking away Scallaway's outstretched hand and grabbing the Snitch. But now Harry was only two feet from the ground and pulled as hard as he could on his Firebolt to go back up into the sky. Harry thought he heard his Firebolt groan, but his broom did as he wanted.

With the Snitch in his clenched fist, he raised his arm in the air to show that he caught it.

…

"How did you do that?" Sirius demanded. "That Wronski Feint! That was amazing!" Sirius exclaimed. James wiped a fake tear from his eye.

"My little brother," James sniffled. "Best Seeker in the world at the mere age of eleven. Though small…"

"Hey!" Harry protested.

James continued as if not interrupted. "Weak…"

"James!" Harry said.

"And knobby kneed…"

By this time, Harry had smacked James' head.

"Hey!" James said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Focus on being your Animagus," Harry commanded.

Harry shut his eyes then, settling into his soft bed.

The feeling of being free… his broom gave him that. Harry focused on that feeling, that euphoria of freedom he got whenever he was on a broomstick. Then he imagined the fur on his skin, the same silky feel.

"Harry!" came a shout. Harry's eyes snapped open, and he saw Sirius, James and Remus all looking at him with the same dumbfounded expression.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You…" James stuttered.

Harry eyed the mirror. His body was sprouting fur. Black, panther fur. Harry almost squealed with joy, but no, he was too manly to squeal.

"Ah! I did it!" Harry shouted.

"Did what?" came a voice. It was the voice of Lily Evans. Her sharp knock signaled that she was about to come in. "Harry? Weren't we going to work on that essay together with Sev?"

Harry swore. He had forgotten. He was about to open the door before James stopped him. "Look at yourself!" he whispered furiously. He was right. Harry was covered from head to toe with fur. The doorknob turned and Harry ran into his bed, covering himself with his covers.

Quickly, he focused on being human again but he could still feel the fur on his hands.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Lily's voice asked.

"Well, hello Lily," James said, trying to divert Lily's attention from Harry. Lily ignored him, however.

"Did you see my amazing shots today at flying lessons?" James asked.

"I don't care about your stupid shot or whatever," Lily said. "I want to know why Harry is hiding under his covers! And Harry, a bunch of my dorm mates want to meet you. Something about a Wonky Faint."

Harry grinned, though it wasn't seen. Hermione had said the same though.

"_Wronski Feint_," Sirius said.

"I don't care," Lily said. Harry could see her suspicious eyes and her angry stare already.

Sirius was stammering. "How could you not care about that? Harry was amazing! A lot of people get hurt doing the Wronski Feint and some people even die doing it!"

"What?!" Lily shrieked.

Harry cursed Sirius in his mind. Lily was like an overprotective mother hen. It was definitely the wrong thing to say.

"Harry!" Lily said. "Why would you do something so dangerous?"

"It's Quidditch, Lily," James said, as if that would explain everything.

"You know immature little boys," came the calm voice of Remus Lupin. "I don't understand myself either."

Lily huffed. "You're alright, aren't you Harry."

"Yeah," Harry said, voice muffled by his blankets. "I'm fine." Harry focused as hard as he could on his human skin.

"Then let's go." Before he knew it, his covers were stripped away from him and he heard the yelps from his fellow Marauders.

Lily was staring at him. It was all over. Harry knew it.

"You're sweating like a pig. Why were you under there?" Lily asked. Then Harry checked his hands. The same white skin. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nothing. Let's go," Harry said.

James, Sirius and Remus shot him a look as he exited. Lily went out of the room first and Harry only shot them a helpless shrug and a wink before closing the door behind him.

**Longest chapter yet with almost five thousand words! Probably because of Quidditch though. Quidditch itself was about 1000 words. So not that long, i guess.**

**I wanted to put Quidditch there... just because. I felt like there was ZERO quidditch and i missed it.**

**Perhaps I'll add something about James, Sirius and Harry going onto the Quidditch team because of some injury from the Gryffindor team. I don't know.**

**Again, a lighthearted chapter. Perhaps next chapter, I'll do a time jump and go straight to summer. Moody and the Potter parents are still suspicious. And i'll do something about that. **

**So yeah. **

**Until next time!**

**OH. and sorry if i didn't use your suggestion. They were all good but i had to pick one. Thanks to She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Sane! The name i'm not that satisfactory with.**

**So suggestions still up for that one. I mean Blackpaws... kind of a mouth full. And eh. So i'm still up to changing it. Tell me soon!**


	6. Is It Weird To Be Jealous Of Yourself?

It was _so_… _strange_ to have Severus Snape there with Harry. Because Snape was being… civil to him. Of course Harry knew that Snape had a soft side – as much as Snape hated to admit it – but it was weird to have Snape show it to Harry so early on.

Harry always thought of Snape as a bitter, sallow and greasy kid and Snape _was_ all those things but surprisingly, he wasn't as bitter to Harry. When he had told the Marauders this, they had all applauded Harry.

"You've broken through Snape's greasy barrier!" Sirius said, whooping for joy.

"You can conquer anything if you made Snape – the heartless fool – like you!" James said, clapping.

"That, or Harry is just as crazy as Snape," Remus said. All applause had faded at his words.

"Maybe we needed to get you checked up," James said, narrowing his eyes though the glint in the hazel told Harry he was just joking.

The rest of the school year passed by in a breeze with no success on the Animagi mission. But Harry was determined to have Snape and Lily like the Marauders. The first obstacle was Snape – who did a fair share of influencing Lily.

"Sit with me on the train," Harry suggested. Snape and Lily nodded, following Harry aboard the bright red Hogwarts Express as Harry led them to the last compartment.

"Wait… isn't this…" Snape never got to finish.

James, Sirius and Remus was already there, sitting with their back straight and legs crossed – acting like the three perfect gentlemen Harry had taught them to be. Lily and Snape always saw the Marauders as arrogant and while they were true, Harry never liked the name calling. This time, all the luggage and trunks were put on the racks above so that there was just enough room for Lily, Snape and Harry to join in.

"So, how did you do on your exams?" James asked politely. This was a test of both James and Sirius' patience and arrogance. They could make slight remarks but could never boast. That was the rule. It had taken forever for Harry to knock the arrogance out of James and Sirius' head – though Harry was sure they were simply acting for James' sake. James' huge crush on Lily had not diminished throughout the year.

"We did great," Lily said cheerily, nudging her greasy friend – ah hem, Snape. "Sev and I got nearly the same thing. O's in Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. Sev got an O in Transfiguration though, but I got an O in Charms. The rest were all E's."

Lily had her own sense of arrogance, Harry realized.

"Good job," Sirius praised.

Now Lily and Severus were gawking at the Marauders.

James and Sirius shot Harry a discreet wink. Remus simply rolled his eyes.

"I got an A in Potions," Remus said. "Not very good at it, you see," Remus explained.

"Well, you're good at everything else Moony," Sirius said, nudging Remus.

"How did you guys do?" Lily asked.

Harry shrugged. As did James and Sirius. Harry was grinning from ear to ear. They were following his instructions perfectly. Remus was suppose to fill the silence.

"I did fine," Remus said. "I would say my favourite subject is Defense and History of Magic."

"I still don't understand how you all get O's in that subject," Sirius said, shaking his head. "I almost got a P, but narrowly escaped with an A."

"Why am I not surprised?" Snape drawled. Sirius looked like was about to punch Snape but Lily nudged him first.

"They're being civil to us, so we should be civil to them. Come on Sev," Lily whispered. It was suppose to be quiet but with Sirius' advanced hound hearing, Harry's panther senses, Remus' werewolf abilities and James sitting the closest to them, they could hear everything Lily said.

James shot Harry a triumphant smile.

"What's your best subject?" Snape asked then, slightly sour.

"Transfiguration," James and Sirius chorused.

"Well, that and Astronomy," Sirius said, frowning as if he didn't like his success in it.

"Why so down?" Lily asked.

"My family," Sirius explained. "My family names most of their children after stars. Like my name is Sirius and my brother's is Regulus. I have some cousins called Andromeda and Bellatrix as well."

_Bellatrix_. Harry wanted to hiss at the name.

"That still doesn't explain why you look so sad," Lily pressed on.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. Harry quickly intervened before James could say something stupid.

"Who wants something from the cart?" he asked. Lily shot Sirius a guilty look.

"I want some Chocolate Frogs," Lily said.

"I don't need anything," Snape said, rather ungratefully.

"Well I know what Remus wants," Harry said. "So both of you," Harry said, standing and pointing to James and Sirius, "You're coming with me."

"How do you know what I want, Harry?" Remus challenged.

"Anything with chocolate," Harry said. Remus blushed then before scowling. Harry gently pushed Sirius and James out of the compartment and to the cart.

"I'm not leaving them with Snape without me," Harry whispered to Remus. "They think you're the decent one out of us lot, so make idle chat. We'll be back soon."

Harry straightened and exited the compartment, walking with James and Sirius until they were several compartments away before saying: "You did it!" Harry said, pumping his fist in the air.

James and Sirius hooted, causing several heads to peer out their compartments, but it didn't stop Sirius and James from smiling widely.

"I thought I was going to die, but I made it through," Sirius said.

"Me too," James said as they picked what they wanted from the cart.

"I'm so proud of you guys. Just please, be polite for the rest of the trip," Harry pleaded. "You aren't going to win over Lily's heart if you're rude to her best friend."

James nodded, strengthening his resolve.

"If Snape steps out of line, Lily and I will fix it. Don't say a word unless you're sure that it's polite and friendly," Harry warned.

Carrying their goodies, they walked back to their compartment and dumped their treats unceremoniously on an empty seat. "Take your pick," Harry gestured.

"Ah, Harry," Lily said. "You never told us _your_ grades yet."

Harry shifted. "Ah, the little git got all O's," Sirius grinned.

"Impressive," Snape allowed. Harry mumbled a thanks but diverted the attention from him to Sirius.

"Did you know that Sirius is the brightest star in the… Southern Hemisphere right?" Harry asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I just know Sirius is part of the dog constellation," Sirius said, shooting Harry a look at the irony, "And it's the brightest star of something."

"Interesting," Harry said.

"Not really," Sirius grinned. "What's interesting is third year electives and they're so far away."

"Sirius Orion Black," James said sternly. "Are you… dare I say it… interested in school?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lily questioned, a hard look in her eyes.

"Nothing," James said, tensing. "It's a joke that we have." Lily seemed to be satisfied with that.

"I want Ancient Runes," Sirius said. Harry was taken aback. He never knew his godfather had been interested in Ancient Runes.

"Really?" James said doubtfully.

"Ancient Runes is cool, James," Harry said. "You can learn how to break curses and stuff and it's good for your magic as well."

"I just want Arithmancy," Remus said firmly.

Harry had never known these things. That his father and godfather had liked Ancient Runes or that Remus enjoyed Arithmancy.

Soon, the train arrived at King's Cross and Lily and Severus got off without incident. "We did it!" the Marauders shouted as they jumped inside their compartment.

…

Harry and James arrived at the Potter Manor, towing their luggage. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had Apparated with them back home.

The Potters still looked wary of Harry, which Harry all-too-painfully had noticed. James was still oblivious though and was asking Harry to teach him some second year spells. Harry longed for his real family – the one that he had truly known. They had trusted him with their lives and Harry trusted his with them. But with the Potters – his 'closest' family – it was not like that.

Harry and James lugged their trunks upstairs to their designated rooms (Harry and James had added plaques on their door over Easter break) and Harry met James in James' cluttered bedroom.

Harry already missed Hogwarts. Though Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville – all his friends, weren't there, Sirius, Remus, Lily and surprisingly Snape was there. (That's right. Even Snape.) But Harry understood. Snape was simply misunderstood half the time, though dressing like an overgrown bat didn't help his case.

The distrust in the air around Harry and the Potter parents was thick in the air. So thick that you could have cut it with a knife. But the Potters pretended to be happy around Harry, as if nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, Harry saw through their act.

At least they tried.

Days and weeks flew by and soon it was July 31st. Harry did not bother to tell anyone about his birthday. He felt no need to celebrate it. Harry joined James in his room for their daily lesson. Harry veered from spells and started on the secret rooms and the hidden passageways in Hogwarts. Occasionally, Sirius and Remus would come over, learning about these places with James as well.

Sirius, who was a surprisingly talented artist, had taken the liberty to draw a map of Hogwarts. Soon, when the Marauders were powerful enough, they would charm it and that would be the Marauders' Map.

Except now Blackpaws would be on it. Not Wormtail. Things were slowly becoming right. Harry could possibly guarantee a safe life for Ron, Hermione, Ginny – all those people who lost their lives in the war… Not only that, but he got to spend time with his family that he had never known before.

Sirius and Remus were coming over that day to spend more time on the map. If none of the other Marauders suggested it, Harry would. He would suggest the idea of charming the map.

"They should be here by now," James said, checking the clock in his room for the ninth time. He was pacing back and forth in his room while Harry lounged on his bed, reading the Daily Prophet.

"Why are you so worried? Just take a seat," Harry said distractedly as he read more about the Minister's actions about Voldemort.

Mentally, Harry made a list about the Horcruxes he needed.

The Gaunt ring

Salazar Slytherin's locket

Helga Hufflepuff's cup

Tom Riddle's diary

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem

He crossed the diadem off his mind. He had done it already. The locket… he'll need someone to be with him when he did so. Perhaps he really needed to talk to Dumbledore. Harry didn't want to get the old Professor involved but it seemed like Harry had no choice. Harry would drink the potion instead of Dumbledore that time though. His magical core, though weaker than usual, is strong. He would have to train it.

Some Aurors had told him that physical fitness helped boost your magical core. So that was what Harry was going to do.

Harry was grateful that Mr. and Mrs. Potter were rarely home – off on Auror raids and all that. But Harry knew they weren't

"They're here!" James said, distracting Harry's thoughts again. Harry could hear the voices of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black as well. James ran out the room to greet his friends but Harry remained calm, reading the Prophet. At least back in the 1970's it wasn't _too_ filled with junk.

Sirius entered the room with James and Remus flanking him. Together, the other three Marauders flopped onto James' bed tiredly.

"Did you run a marathon coming up here or something?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Prongs made us do jumping jacks thirty times before we could come in and Padfoot made him do it with us," Remus explained.

"Only thirty and you're tired?" Harry asked, shaking his head.

"Well, sorry," Sirius huffed.

"It's fine. I have the perfect idea," Harry grinned. "Change into work out clothes. If James doesn't have any extra then I'll transfigure them for you."

"Can't you just transfigure them now?" James whined.

"No. Now go," Harry said, dashing back to his room to change.

He met the Marauders outside. "We are going to go running around Potter Manor five times."

"_Five times?_" Sirius asked, eyes bulging.

"Physical fitness is good for your magic _and_ for your meditation. It's good for everything. Now start running," Harry said, leading the grumbling Marauders.

When they were finished, Harry was slightly tired and out of breath after not working out for so long, but the other Marauders were practically dead because they hadn't been working out… at all.

"Come on. How are you going to get dates if you're so weak?" Harry questioned.

Sirius shot Harry a half-hearted glare.

"Go shower," Harry said. "I'm _scourgifying_ Remus because he tried the hardest. You both can use either mine or Prongs' bathroom." James and Sirius grumbled about _bossy attitudes_ before tiredly climbing up the stairs. Harry made quick work of cleaning up Remus and himself and Remus didn't even have the energy to protest or point out that _Scourgify_ was not a second year spell. Remus still looked tired so Harry used the _Aguamenti _ charm to make Remus wide awake and dried him almost as quickly.

James came down first. "Sirius is singing up there, so you probably don't want to go upstairs. And Harry, I saw your calendar. Why was July 31st marked?" James questioned.

Harry shrugged.

"Why did it say _Birthday?_" James said, crossing his arms. Harry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Harry James Potter!" James bellowed. Harry and Remus winced – especially the young werewolf. Advanced hearing was truly a gift and a curse.

Sirius came rushing downstairs, dressed only in a towel that was wrapped around his waist, only held by Sirius' clenched fist. His wide gray eyes glanced at James. "Who died?" he asked.

Remus sighed. "Go get dressed, Padfoot."

Sirius looked down and then smirked. "Can't handle all this?" Sirius said, gesturing to his thin chest. The other Marauders scoffed.

"No, we can't," Harry drawled dryly. "All that scrawniness."

"Hey!" Sirius said, stomping back upstairs to put clothes on.

When Sirius got back down, Harry was being berated by James. "Now I can't get you a present!" James huffed. "Mum would never allow us to go to Diagon Alley alone. This is all your fault, Harry!" James said, stamping his feet.

"Did Prongs just stamp his feet?" Sirius asked, smirking as he towel-dried his hair. "And I thought the Marauders was an all _guy_ group."

"It's Harry's birthday today," James stated.

"Harry James Potter!" Sirius bellowed. But he was not angry. Instead his face was alight with happiness. "Let's get people over! We can sneak to Diagon Alley or to Hogsmeade or…"

"My mum would kill you," James said.

"Are you kidding me? Your mum loves me. More than you even," Sirius smirked. It was true. Dorea Potter had taken an instant liking to Sirius' gray eyes and handsome face. Apparently Sirius wasn't joking when he had said the Potters had loved him.

"We _can_ go on the Knight Bus…" Remus said doubtfully.

"We aren't going anywhere until we finish that map," Harry declared. Groans met him – even Remus let out a sigh.

"You're no fun, you know that, Paws?" Sirius said. It was the nickname of his nickname. Harry had joked and said: "Inception!" But the rest of them didn't get it. After all, it was a Muggle movie that was released _after_ they had died.

"How cool would it be if we charmed the map to let us see all the people moving on it?" Harry asked innocently "We should put a secret code on it so that it opens only for people who know the code and you have to say something to wipe out the map."

"Brilliant!" Sirius announced.

"You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?" Remus said.

Harry shrugged. "I got the idea from something similar to this."

_Yeah,_ Harry thought._ The exact same map in the future. But it's not the same._ Harry was grinning wryly to himself, though the other Marauders had no idea why.

"We can call it Sirius and Company's Map!" Sirius said brightly, but he got flicked on the ear by three annoyed boys.

"The Marauders' Map?" Remus suggested. Sirius voted for his own name, but he was outvoted by James and Harry.

Eventually, they veered off topic and somehow, they had gotten onto the topic of the future. They were now in James' bedroom, all sprawled somewhere around the room. Sirius was on James' desk chair, limbs splayed out while Harry was on James' bed. James was on the floor and Remus was the only civil one, legs crossed and sitting properly on the edge of James' bed.

"I'm not going to be tied down forever," Sirius said, crossing his arms as he stared at the ceiling. "I'm going to stay single forever and even when I'm old and wrinkly, there will be hot grandmas coming after me," Sirius said, grinning.

"I'm not going to get married either," Remus said, looking slightly downcast.

"You will, Moony," Harry promised. "To a wonderful Metamorphmagus that won't care about your furry little problem. In fact, she'll think that you howling at the moon once every month is endearing and you two will have ten thousand babies," Harry said, completely serious.

"I feel sorry for the girl. Ten thousand babies," Sirius laughed. Remus gave Harry a small smile.

"I'm going to get married to a redhead. By the name of Lily Evans," James said stoutly.

"I'm going to get married to a redhead too," Harry said, staring at the ceiling. Ah, Ginny. Was she still okay? Harry bit his lip. And his three children…

But he was doing this so that they could have a good life. So Ginny could have a good life. It would be so hard… to see Ginny grow up and perhaps marry another Harry James Potter. Was it weird to be jealous of yourself? Yeah. Yeah it was.


	7. The Smell of Lily

"I can't do this!" Sirius yelled in frustration. "I've meditated and I've studied the stupid dog but I can't even get the fur!" Sirius complained. "Can you get Twitch to get me some juice? I'm parched from meditating."

"You mean sitting and focusing on something for more than two seconds?" Remus scoffed. "Twitch is a house-elf, not a slave."

"Still!" Sirius pouted. "I still can't get it, though."

"I can't get it either," James pouted. The four Marauders sat on James' bed in a circle, constantly meditating. Well, Remus wasn't meditating. He was eying his friends worriedly. Only Harry could get the fur, but he couldn't get anything else from his panther.

"This is so frustrating," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.

"Then you should stop doing it," Remus suggested.

"No!" the other Marauders replied, not missing a beat.

"We should just work on the map," Remus said. Sirius had finished drawing the map, but that was all the progress they had. Harry had no idea how to charm the map and he wished he had asked Sirius and Remus before they had… died.

"Go work on the map for now, Moony," Sirius said, rubbing his temples. "I want my fur right now."

Remus sighed but complied, sliding off the bed to James' desk where the incomplete map sat.

James, Harry and Sirius closed their eyes, all of them picturing their animal inside their minds. Harry pictured the prowling panther as it walked through the dark forest, scanning for prey. Harry had analyzed every single detail of the black panther – how it moves, how it hunts, how it acts – everything that he could get his hands on.

When James and Sirius had seen black fur sprout on Harry's body, they had done more and more research on their own animal. James had even went into the woods to simply watch the deer and stags move.

They had done research for so long and it was already the end of August. They had decided they would do more research at school because the library at Hogwarts had more on their animals than the library on James' shelf – which was practically nonexistent.

A knock on James' bedroom door interrupted their concentration and Sirius looked as if he wanted to murder the person who had knocked.

Dorea Potter opened the door. "What are you doing?" Mrs. Potter asked, seeing James, Harry and Sirius sitting in a circle.

"Meditating," James said cheerily. "Good for the soul."

"Ah well…" Mrs. Potter said, clearly still suspicious. "Twitch is going to make you dinner again. Your father and I have to go…"

"On another raid, right?" James said, all happiness gone. "To round up more Death Eaters." Mrs. Potter shot her son a sad look. James slid off the bed, walking to the door. "Just leave please. We're trying to do something," James said curtly. Mrs. Potter backed up and James shut the door, leaning against it with a downcast face.

"Prongs…" Sirius began, but James just shook his head.

"She's always leaving," James said, voice almost like a growl. "So is Dad. I love them, but they aren't _there_ at all. Not when I broke my leg. Not when I won a prize in Transfiguration. Not when I sent them that letter that I liked Lily," James said. Not even the subject of Lily could cheer him up. "They are _never_ there. Why do you think I wanted a brother so badly?"

Harry stood up, going to his brother's side. This James was not his father. James was an insecure little boy, a younger brother to Harry. Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You know, James. Once this is all over, I'll bet they'll spoil you with ice cream and treacle tarts," Harry said. That wasn't true though. By the time Voldemort was 'dead,' Harry was the only Potter left. But Harry was determined to eradicate Voldemort faster, if not for Harry, if not for Ginny and the future generation, if not for the wizarding world – for James, the boy that just needed some love.

Harry sensed a crying presence behind him – Mrs. Potter. He was grateful for the Auror training, teaching him to hone his senses. He knew that the crying Mrs. Potter was behind him, so he could comfort them both at the same time.

"They love you," Harry said. "You shouldn't doubt that. They're trying to make this world safe for you and all those baby Potters that are going to be from you," Harry nudged. "Those baby Potters are going to look exactly like you, but they're going to have a bit of Lily Evans as well," Harry grinned. "Maybe green eyes."

"Maybe," James said, offering Harry a smile.

"Let's continuing meditating. After all, it's good for the soul, right?" Harry said.

…

Second year came and so did Quidditch tryouts. Sirius and James were bouncing up and down, begging Mr. Potter for a new broom because they knew that Sirius' parents would definitely say no and Mr. Potter was much easier to manipulate than Mrs. Potter.

"Please," Sirius pouted, putting on the show for him. "My parents… they would never get me a broom."

"Please, Dad?" James asked, looking up at his father with wide, hazel eyes.

Mr. Potter gave in to them and Harry was reminded of himself. He could never say no to his children. It was often up to Ginny to say no. A pang of sadness filled him as he reminisced of his kids again. He'll need to talk to Dumbledore soon.

"I'll send you a broom," Mr. Potter whispered to them. "Don't let your mother know and get on the train."

Grinning, James and Sirius turned and got on the train, finding the compartment where Remus had already saved for them. Harry nodded to Mr. and Mrs. Potter before following James and Sirius.

How long has it been since he arrived in the 1970's? Over a year. Harry couldn't believe it. But not a day went by that he didn't think about the future where he came from. Harry would then strengthen his resolve by looking at the Marauders. They needed to stay alive.

Remus had to hold his son, Teddy. Sirius had to continue to live freely, as he would if he had not been restrained by Azkaban. And James… he had to live his life. He had to grow old and wrinkly along with Lily Evans – Potter, and look at James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter as they ran around him.

Their lives were unfairly cut short and Harry was there to make sure they lived until they were old and gray.

Harry sat down beside Remus, who was setting up a chessboard. James and Sirius realized that they hadn't finished their summer homework and was scrawling answers onto a piece of parchment.

As the train continued to move and as Remus continued to destroy Harry in chess, Harry was sighing inside. This was his new life now. He was going to be like Mr. and Mrs. Potter, making the world safe for baby Potters.

…

"Line up!" the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team called. "Seekers on the far left, Chasers behind me and Beaters near the goal posts. The captain, Harry didn't even know his name, was the Keeper of the team.

"Chasers first," the captain said. James, along with eight other potential Chasers flew into the air. They were split into groups of three and were doing Chaser formations like the Porksoff Play. The captain was seeing how well they could fly and how well they could work with other people. Not a bad strategy, Harry thought.

To Harry, the best out of them was a third year called Isis Travis, a seventh year called Finn Redwood, a fifth year called Jace Kingston and James Potter. The other people were alright, but not as good as them. The captain seemed to note it too and he flew up to the goalposts to test them for shots out of five.

Sirius told Harry that the captain was actually Jace Kingston's brother, Jonathan Kingston.

Only James, Jace Kingston and Finn Redwood was able to get all five shots past Jonathan Kingston.

The Beaters were next and Sirius and Samantha Bones – a fellow second year – made it in easily. Sirius, after all, could do the Bludger Backbeat, something some professional players had trouble with.

For the Seeker position, they had to catch the Snitch three times. Harry caught it all three times and that was tryouts.

James and Sirius were bouncing off the walls because they had made it and Harry was smiling, but it didn't feel right without Ginny as Chaser, Ron as Keeper and the Weasley twins as Beaters. But again, Harry was doing this so that Fred wouldn't have to die, along with other people.

"Moony's waiting for us in the Great Hall," Sirius said.

"He's freaking out over double Potions later," James grinned. "Harry, you can be his partner."

"What? Why me?" Harry asked as they put their brooms safely in their room.

"You're one of the best in the class! Maybe not as good as Lily or _Snape_…" Sirius said distastefully.

"Hey," Harry warned. "Remember that you have to be nice to him."

Sirius sighed. "Only for you Prongs. Maybe you should just move onto another girl so I can go back to hating Snape in peace."

"No!" James said, clearly offended. Then some first year girls came walking by, giggling as they did so. Their eyes were obviously scanning over James, Sirius and Harry and Harry gave an involuntary shudder as they continued on their trek to the Great Hall.

"Girls," Harry shuddered.

"So you aren't going to date anyone?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not going to date any girls," Harry said. "I'm going to date _women_," he grinned. Women, as in Ginny Weasley.

"That's right, Harry!" Sirius said as James groaned.

"Not you too!" James pouted. "Enough with the 'dating every girl in this school' thing." Sirius viewed it as a challenge to date every hot girl in the school in his school years.

"We aren't dating girls, Prongs," Harry said, mocking hurt.

"We're going to date _women_," Sirius laughed and Harry and Sirius ran away from James who was rolling his eyes.

…

"Samantha is pretty fit, isn't she?" Sirius asked as the Marauders entered their room.

"Samantha Bones?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's a really good Beater," Sirius shrugged.

"Before you said that you didn't want any girls on your team," Remus pointed out.

"Oh, shut up," Sirius said irritably as he changed into his pajamas. "That doesn't matter. I'm just saying she's fit. Now agree so that we can go to bed."

"Agreed," the Marauders chorused.

"Any luck with the map, Moony?" Harry asked.

Remus shook his head. "I've been looking through tons of Charms books," Remus sighed. "Can't find one that would help us."

Harry sighed. "Me too."

"Speaking of Charms books," James said excitedly. "Today, I told Lily I was interested in Charms, just like she was…"

"James, you don't even like Charms," Sirius interrupted.

"That's not the point," James said, rolling his eyes. "The point is that Lily _lent me her advance Charms book._"

"How does that matter?" Sirius said, climbing into bed.

"How does that _not_ matter!?" James said. "She lent me her book! It even smells like her."

"You know what Lily smells like?" Remus asked.

"Of course I know," James scoffed. James opened the Charms book to a random page, sniffing it again. "Ah, the smell of Lily – oh wait," James said, scanning the page.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Would this charm work?" James said, showing the now interested Harry, Remus and Sirius.

"How is it that we spend hours looking through tons of books, but you find one and there it is?" Remus asked.

"The smell of Lily is the lucky scent," James shrugged.

"Prongs has turned absolutely insane," Sirius muttered.

**This chapter was just a filler one. I'm probably going to time jump AGAIN to Christmas. Nothing good happens until they're older. Tell me if I should add a Quidditch game.**

**AND THIS CHAPTER WAS EXACTLY 2000 WORDS! (not counting AN)**

**THAT'S LIKE... i don't even know why it's cool. It's just cool alright! **


	8. Christmas Plans

"There's Potter with the Quaffle!" Remus hollered. Remus had volunteered to be the announcer so that he would have a nice view when the game began. "Pass to Kingston – and to Redwood – back to Potter! They're doing a very nice Three Man's Weave – escaping the Slytherins!"

Harry was still watching the game from above, looking for any gold glint.

"Bludger flying for Potter – but _OH!_ Black does an amazing swing, knocking down Slytherin Chaser, Vasili!" Remus hooted. "Now Potter has an open path, scores! Gryffindor with the lead of 30-0!"

A gold glint caught Harry's eyes and Harry dove for it, but it was just the Slytherin Keeper's watch. Harry cursed, resuming his position above the field.

"Vasili and Gold – both Slytherin Chasers – heading for the goalposts with the Quaffle, passing back and forth. Pass to Gold – ducks the Bludger sent from Bones and… DENIED! Incredible save by Keeper Kingston! But Vasili catches the blocked Quaffle and… Scores! Gryffindor still in the lead!

Harry was getting frustrated. The Snitch had not made a single appearance and Slytherin had started to score more. Now it was tied at sixty.

Then the sound of fluttering wings caught Harry's attention. Harry made a grab for it, the Snitch that was right above his head but the Snitch evaded his grasp, flying for the Slytherin seeker.

"Biased, much!" Harry shouted, going after the Snitch. The Slytherin seeker had seen the Snitch as well but the tiny golden ball flew downwards, heading for the freshly cut grass on the Quidditch field.

The two seekers went for it, but Harry's broom was infinitely faster than the other seeker's. Perhaps it wasn't fair, but still. Harry made a grab for the Snitch but the Snitch pulled upwards and before Harry could crash, he tugged on his broom, making it follow the Snitch. Unfortunately, the other seeker's broom was not as great as Harry's and he crashed onto the grass. Harry continued on his path for the Snitch and it was getting infuriating. Harry was could touch the tip of the wings but could never grab onto it.

Deciding that he would be reckless, Harry leaped off the broom, grabbing the Snitch and he began to fall.

"Harry!" came the distressed yell of James. Harry didn't know if magic was allowed in cases like these so he let himself fall. But before he could crash onto the ground, he felt a hand grab onto his jersey, stopping his fall. Harry clambered onto his saviour's broom, grinning madly.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry grinned.

Sirius turned around, shooting Harry a wild smile. "No problem. You still got the Snitch?" he asked.

Harry mirrored Sirius' crazy smile. "Of course."

…

"And you just jumped! Are you insane!?" Lily yelled. James was pacing in the Gryffindor common room as Lily yelled at Harry, reprimanding him for his attitude.

"I can't believe you," James said, shaking his head. "You aren't suppose to _die_ in this game!"

"And you…" Lily shook her head madly. "You idiot!"

"Calm down, Lily-flower," Sirius said. He was sitting beside Harry on the couch and he flung a lazy arm onto Harry's shoulders. "He's fine now. I saved him!"

"Stop encouraging him!" Lily shrieked. Remus was sighing on the couch opposite of the one Harry and Sirius was on, rolling his eyes as he continued to read from his book.

"That was extremely stupid!" James said, hands on his hips. "Do you know how worried I felt?!"

"They're acting like parents, aren't they?" Sirius grinned.

Harry felt a pang of wistfulness in his chest. This was how it was suppose to be. Harry's parents would have berated him for his stupidity, Sirius would have encouraged his recklessness and Remus would just be there, silently amused at the whole situation. This was how it would have happened.

"Can we go now?" Sirius asked. "The feast at the Great Hall's including steak tonight. I asked the house elves," Sirius said.

"You…" Lily was at a loss for words. Defeated, she sighed. "Just go. If it were me, I would ground you until you were thirty."

Harry bit his lip at her words and exited the Gryffindor common room with Sirius.

…

Christmas came, along with the snow and the Marauders were all prepared to go back to Potter Manor.

"You know," James said as the Marauders settled into James' room. "We've been in my room so much that even I'm getting tired of it," he frowned.

"Then what do you want us to do?" Harry asked absentmindedly as he flipped through his Transfiguration book.

"Let's go play Quidditch with your broom," James said.

Harry looked up. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, eyes widening.

"No, Harry," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "He's talking to an invisible hippogriff."

"No!" Harry said, dropping his Transfiguration text. "Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" Sirius whined. "Even _James _isn't this protective over his broom." The Marauders stopped calling each other their nicknames so often because it was a huge giveaway. They were only going to use it as their 'calling card' for pranks and the map. They were fine with calling each other that in private, but Mr. and Mrs. Potter were home – and they had ears all around the house.

"Call it sentimental value," Harry said. "It was given to me by my godfather – before he died." The room was silent as Harry continued to stare at Sirius, who had his head down.

"Fine," James sighed. "But we should continue on our map." They stopped doing the Animagus work at home as well, because if James' parents knew…

Harry had shuddered when he thought about the results. If they talked about a map, the Potters would only think of it as a map around the school – a plain, simple map – to guide them. It was less suspicious for them to talk about the map.

"Ah, about that…" Remus said, looking up from his own book. "I tried the charm but I can't do it," Remus said sheepishly. "I tried the tracking spell… can't do it either."

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"They're advanced spells," Harry said.

"I bet I can do them," James boasted.

"Not as good as me," Sirius challenged.

"If Remus can't do it, then both of you can't do it, so don't even bother," Harry sighed.

James placed a dramatic hand over his heart. "Why do you doubt us so, little brother?" he asked, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

Harry narrowed his eyes and James put two hands up in surrender. "Alright! Stop looking at me like that. It's like _you're looking into my soul_," James shuddered. "I swear, your glares are just as bad as Lily's."

Harry only grinned. "Hey Remus," Harry said. Remus glanced at Harry, already knowing what he's going to say, and passed Harry the map.

Harry bit his lip as he twirled the wand with his fingers and then he used a spell to make four more copies of the map.

"Why…?" Sirius asked, picking up one of the copies.

"So if I accidentally burn the map, we have extras," Harry said. Dropping the original, he picked up a copy and muttered the charm under his breath, but nothing happened to the map. Cursing, he tried again – but the map caught on fire, just like Harry predicted.

Harry dropped it immediately. "_Aguamenti,"_ he said, pointing to the map. It was too late to salvage the map – unless Harry wanted to tap into more of his own magic. He wouldn't though. The charm and tracking spell was tricky enough as it was.

Sighing at his failure, Harry tried again. And again. And again.

Until the last copy was the original one.

Harry pointed his wand at the parchment. He was too lazy to make more copies and decided to salvage it if needed. Once again, he said the incantation.

Harry didn't know what had changed from the previous attempt and the one he had been doing, but the map did not light on fire. Perhaps he had put more energy into it than the other times because Harry felt like his strength was being drained away from him.

But Harry kept going, his wand scanning over the entire map to make sure the charm was over the entire map. Then he released his spell collapsing onto James' bed.

"Look! It worked! I can see the names – but they aren't moving," Remus said, but to Harry, his voice sounded so far away. "We just need the tracking spell with it and it will work!"

But Harry was too tired to perform the spell and fell asleep, not knowing that his Marauders were looking at his tired body expectantly – and continued looking at his sleeping body for the next half hour, waiting for Harry to do the spell.

…

"I still can't believe you thought I was awake for _half an hour_," Harry laughed.

"Well... Whatever! Just do the spell!" James grumbled.

Harry smirked and pointed his wand at the parchment. Harry muttered the words under his breath again and light shone from his wand, blinding the Marauders. When Harry could open his eyes again, he could see things moving.

There was Dumbledore pacing in his office. There were a couple students in the dormitories. McGonagall was in the Transfiguration classroom – no doubt preparing another hard lesson. And then there was Severus Snape and Lily Evans, sitting alone in the Great Hall.

James narrowed his eyes, glancing at the map. "Why is Snivelly," James said, but he was interrupted by Harry's loud cough, "_Snivellus_," James amended and Harry glared at him. "Alright!" James said, crossing his arms. "Why is Snape with Lily?"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed," Remus said, rolling his eyes, "But Lily and Severus are best friends."

"I don't want them to be best friends!" James pouted childishly.

"Well too bad," Harry said, flicking James' nose. "You won't win any points with Lily if you're mean to her best friend."

James sat there sulkily. "Why so glum, chum?" Sirius asked, pushing James lightly. "We just finished the map!"

"Not quite," Remus said. "We still need to do the protection charm and make sure that the map doesn't lie."

"We can pour Veritaserum over it," Harry suggested.

"Ugh!" Sirius said, putting his hands over his ears. "Enough with the nerd talk! Can we just sit here and be normal boys and talk about the latest chick?"

"Yes, yes, _no,_" Remus said, shaking his head. "But we should take a break. We've made good progress."

"James! Harry! Sirius! Remus!" Mrs. Potter called from outside the door. "We have to tell you something!"

The clack of her shoes told Harry that Mrs. Potter left the door and was walking down the stairs. "Do you think we're in trouble?" Remus asked, fidgeting. "She knows I'm a werewolf and…"

"Remus, no one cares about your furry little problem," Harry promised.

"And why would we be in trouble? We're _angels_," Sirius said, batting his long eyelashes and putting on his innocent face. To Harry, it only made Sirius more suspicious.

"Perhaps they have bad news to break to us," James suggested. "Maybe aliens came to invade us. We should practice our alien speech."

"James, aliens don't exist," Remus scoffed.

"Muggles say that vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards don't exist either," James shrugged.

"Maybe we're being punked," Sirius said. "They're going to pull a prank on us and tell us something dramatic like: You-Know-Who is at our door. _Or_, even worse is that Quidditch is cancelled forever."

"I don't think Quidditch outranks Voldemort in importance," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe they're…" James started, but Harry didn't let him finish.

"_Or_ they want to tell us about the Christmas party that the Malfoys are hosting," Harry said, scoffing at the other boys' suggestions.

"Nah," the other boys chorused.

"Want to bet on it?" Harry challenged. The boys exchanged looks.

"Ten sickles on whoever wins," James said. "I bet that they have bad news."

"I'm still saying that they're pranking us," Sirius piped up.

"I say that we're in trouble," Remus said.

"And you already know mine," Harry nodded. "Let's go."

The Marauders made their way downstairs where Mr. and Mrs. Potter were sitting. The boys quickly sat down at the dining table near them. Twitch brought them all tea and they all took a simultaneous sip.

"The Malfoys have invited us to their annual Christmas party," Charlus Potter announced.

He was met with three groans and one victorious smirk as money was exchanged underneath the table. Mr. Potter shot his son a confused glance, to which James simply shrugged, and continued.

"Anyways," Mr. Potter said, "We should dress in our finest dress robes. Being invited to the Malfoys' Christmas party means high honour – and you should be respectful at all times."

Sirius and James nodded earnestly but Harry and Remus rolled their eyes. James and Sirius were far from respectful.

"You will be our guest, Remus," Mrs. Potter said. With a nod, they were all excused to go back upstairs.

A lot was going through Harry's mind. This was a great opportunity to get the diary. He didn't know if Voldemort had given Abraxas and Lucius Malfoy the diary yet, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"You know what this means, don't you?" James asked abruptly as they walked up the stairs.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. I've just always wanted to say: _You know what this means, don't you_? It's one of those sentences that just freeze you. And it sounds pretty awesome," James grinned. He received three flicks to the ear and huffed as he followed the other Marauders back upstairs.

**HEY! THINK WE CAN MAKE IT TO EIGHTY REVIEWS?**

**WE COOL BEANS? **

**Oh, and if you know any fan fics that involve a reader going INTO the harry potter books... TELL ME! It's my latest obsession XD. Even if it's bad quality, I'll read it XD**

**Next chapter - HORCRUX #2~**


	9. What Did He Do?

Harry pulled on his dress robes, eying himself in the full length mirror. With his emerald robes and nice shoes, he was ready for the Malfoy Christmas party.

He had been planning on how to enter the hidden room that held the dark artifacts that the Malfoys hid. Lucius Malfoy was probably going to be a Death Eater soon and he would know of the diary. Probably. He was six years older than the Marauders, which meant that he was in seventh year. He was already of age. That wasn't a good thing. That meant Harry had to sneak past _two_ people.

Luckily, he had an invisibility cloak and though it was harder to move in, it was harder to see past. Simple disillusion charms could be broken, but Harry's cloak had no such problems, unless it was ripped away from him.

The secret alcove of dark artifacts was under the rug in the drawing room. Harry had raided Malfoy Manor before and he knew that there were several wards on it. Evading wards was not Harry's strength and Harry was sure there were alarms on it. But he needed the diary and it was a risk Harry had to take.

"Harry? Are you ready?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"I'm coming!" Harry called back to Mrs. Potter outside his bedroom door. Slipping his wand into the holster that Harry had bought recently and the small jar of basilisk venom that he had ordered from Borgin and Burkes into a bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm, he was ready. His cloak was already in the bag and the bag hidden underneath his robes.

Harry exited his room, meeting the other Marauders and Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Sirius," Mrs. Potter berated. "Straighten your tie! And for Merlin's sake, James Potter! Comb your hair!"

"It's not going to work," Mr. Potter grinned. "Potter hair is untameable."

Then Mrs. Potter saw Harry, with the same messy hair as her husband and son. Sighing, she moved on to Sirius, who had kept his tie loose.

Remus was the only one who had dressed perfectly, according to Mrs. Potter, and he received praise for it – making him blush.

"We're Apparating," Mrs. Potter announced. Remus and Sirius held onto Mr. Potter's hands while Harry and James held onto Mrs. Potter. With the familiar sense of being squeezed through a tight tube, they made it to the Apparating point at Malfoy Manor.

"Now, all of you have to behave," Mrs. Potter commanded as they neared the manor. "And…"

"And we have to be polite," Sirius drawled.

"And we cannot pull any pranks," James added.

"We can't run around in the house," Remus piped up.

"And we can't take anything from their house," Harry grinned, knowing he was going to do it anyways.

"They know your speech by heart, Dorea," Mr. Potter grinned. "Just let them go."

"Fine," Mrs. Potter sniffed. "Absolutely no exploring! Stay in the ballroom under any circumstance."

And with that, the Marauders quickened their pace, eager to get away from the authority figures and determined to explore.

"What shall we do first?" Sirius asked. "Go to Malfoy's bedroom and mess it up?" Sirius asked.

"Spike the punch and turn everyone pink?" James added.

"_Or_ we can just be normal guests!" Remus sighed exasperatedly.

The other three Marauders looked at each other. "Nah," they chorused.

"We should go exploring on our own. Meet you at the refreshment table in half an hour?" Harry suggested.

"Perfect," James said. And the four Marauders split up, ready to cause mayhem of their own.

…

The hardest thing about getting the diary was not getting to the drawing room. It was removing the wards. Harry, under the Invisibility Cloak, removed the rug and eyed the hidden trapdoor. Removing the spell that concealed the place was easy, but now there were wards that prevented intruders.

Harry dug up all his knowledge on wards – which unfortunately, wasn't a lot. Bill had told him some tips before… but he couldn't remember them. Identifying the wards was slightly easier and there was only one. An intruder ward. Obviously, the Malfoys thought that the hidden room was safe under their watch. The ward they had would alarm them if someone crossed it. Only someone with Malfoy blood could get across it.

Harry cursed.

Then a sound of creaking floor boards alarmed Harry. Harry turned around immediately to see the suspicious and younger face of Lucius Malfoy. Simply perfect, Harry thought sarcastically. Then again, it _was _perfect…

Malfoy was suspicious because the rug over the hidden door had been removed. He extended a hand, grasping blindly at the air.

"_Petrificus Totalus,_" Harry whispered and Lucius Malfoy fell over, eyes wide, frightened and confused. Harry pushed Malfoy over and placed his hand on the hidden trapdoor. The door opened immediately and Harry grinned widely. He couldn't leave Malfoy as he was, so he pushed Malfoy behind a couch in the drawing room and slipped down the entrance and into the hidden alcove.

The diary was at the far end of the small room and there seemed to be nothing in Harry's way, but he kept his guard up. The room was filled with the evil air of the dark arts and Harry didn't dare touch anything else.

Quickly and quietly, he snatched the diary and put it in his bag. That's when the alarms went off. Harry swore and dashed to get out of the alcove, but Abraxas and Lucius Malfoy was descending into it, blocking Harry's exit.

There was not much room for Harry to hide in and in the small space, the Malfoys could easily touch him. Harry backed away slowly and pressed himself against a wall.

"The diary," Abraxas snarled. "It's gone! You idiot!" he said, smacking Lucius Malfoy. If Malfoy had been a little nicer in the future, perhaps Harry would have felt sorry for him. But as it was, both Malfoys were cruel and Harry felt no sympathy.

"Perhaps a guest took it," Malfoy said.

"Who?" Abraxas sneered. "No one knows of this place except for us. And we've invited practically half the wizarding world, you dolt!"

Malfoy winced. "Go upstairs and look for it," Abraxas said, pushing Malfoy to the ground. "Get out of my sight, boy."

Lucius Malfoy scrambled up the ladder and out the trapdoor.

With one last snarl, Abraxas Malfoy followed his son and closed the exit. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Casting the time charm, he swore again. It had been thirty minutes since he had left the other Marauders. He needed to hurry. Harry quickly casted an illusion charm on himself, making him turn into a blonde woman with big breasts and wide hips and stuffed his Invisibility Cloak into his bag.

Harry was thinking that if he got caught, the Malfoys would think that it was a twenty year old woman that took the diary. Not an twelve year old boy with the mindset of a thirty-one year old man.

Quickly he exited the room, and he was not surprised to find Lucius Malfoy there, standing guard. Immediately, Malfoy broke down Harry's disillusion charm, shocked to find a woman standing there, eyes wide. Malfoy was stammering and Harry only smiled widely before casting another disillusion charm and exiting the drawing room immediately with Malfoy hot on his heels.

Harry ducked into the bathroom and righted himself, exiting calmly as Malfoy looked around and caught sight of Harry.

"Have you seen a veela-like woman come around?" Malfoy asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "No, sorry sir," Harry apologized. Malfoy pushed past Harry before Harry could dissolve into laughs.

_Veela-like?_

Harry hurried to the refreshment table where the Marauders were waiting. "Good, you're here," James said. "I spiked the punch and when everybody does a toast…"

Harry smirked. "Should we turn pink as well?" Harry asked. "It would make us look less suspicious," he whispered to them.

"But… there's not much point then if we turn pink as well," Sirius pouted.

"But we would look less silly in pink than… Malfoy," Harry pointed out.

"Fine," Sirius agreed.

When Abraxas Malfoy prepared the toast, the Marauders exchanged gleeful grins.

"Bottoms up," Sirius said, and everybody took a sip of the punch.

And everybody turned hot pink.

Harry held in his laughter and placed polite confusion on his face. The Marauders did as well. They were too good of actors. Clearly, Remus and Sirius had trained James well. Before, James could not hold in laughter at all. It was always Remus and Sirius who pulled them out of their mess.

Confused cries echoed in the ballroom as Abraxas called for order.

"Perhaps we should have made them red and green," Sirius whispered to Harry. "More festive for Christmas."

Harry did a silent spell and immediately everyone began changing from pink to red to green and back to red.

Abraxas was shaking angrily.

"Wonderful!" came the shout of the one the guests. "Absolutely brilliant, Abraxas! Best Christmas party yet!"

Suffice to say, the Marauders never got caught.

…

For Christmas, James received the Invisibility Cloak. The Marauders were alight with glee. Harry didn't know why, but when James touched his cloak, the Invisibility Cloak that Harry owned mysteriously vanished. Perhaps it was because the world would not allow two Invisibility Cloaks to exist. But Harry was fine with it – after all, there was another one.

The Marauders used it often for pranks and loved it when Filch became frustrated when he couldn't catch the culprits. They snuck down to the kitchens for midnight snacks as well.

Soon, summer arrived and the Marauders were back in their compartment at the end of the train, talking about Hogsmeade and the electives they had chosen.

Harry had chosen to take three electives: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures. He didn't want to take the last one, because it didn't feel right without Hagrid. But he did so anyways because he needed to keep James and Sirius in line. All of the Marauders had taken the same classes as Harry. They had agreed on it together.

Harry was not surprised when Lily and Snape chose to take the same classes. Lily and Snape would have wanted a challenge and Harry was the peacemaker between the Marauders and the two best friends.

"We're going to Hogsmeade!" Sirius sang loudly in the compartment.

"Yeah," Remus said, flipping the page of his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. "In _October._ It's June right now."

Sirius sulked. "You _had_ to ruin my mood. What are you going to do next? Eat puppies?"

"Shh," James shushed. "Can't you see I'm thinking right now?" he asked.

"Prongs, let's be honest. You rarely think at all," Sirius said.

James scowled and punched Sirius' shoulder. "I had a good prank in my mind and I just lost it. Good job, Padfoot," he said sarcastically.

"Why thank you, Mr. Prongs," Sirius said, tipping an invisible hat to James happily. If he had noted the sarcasm (which he probably did), he ignored it.

"Quiet, both of you," Harry said. He had already destroyed the diary Horcrux. He hadn't gone to Dumbledore yet though, and he wasn't sure if he should go to the old man yet. Harry didn't want to tell anyone the full truth of his past – or future – unless he had to.

Once again, he made the mental list of Horcruxes in his mind.

The Gaunt ring

Salazar Slytherin's locket

Helga Hufflepuff's cup

Tom Riddle's Diary

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem

Two down, three to go.

"Harry?" Remus asked, snapping a finger in front of Harry's face.

Harry looked up. "Sorry. I was just thinking about…"

"Ginny?" James asked. "You say that name in your sleep a lot." Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You look really tired," James noted. "Take a nap."

Harry nodded and leaned back in his seat. Had he really mumbled Ginny's name? Sighing, he closed his eyes and fell asleep as the train continued on its journey back to London.

…

_"Harry?" _

_He knew that voice… Harry knew that voice! Harry woke with a start, eyes blinking twice before focusing on the face in front of him. Ginny. _

_"You've been sleeping for so long," Ginny said, rolling his eyes. "The kids are asleep already, but I was thinking we could go get some late night ice cream."_

_Harry rubbed his eyes. Was this really happening? He was back! Harry hugged Ginny tightly before kissing her and getting up. "I would love ice cream," he declared. _

_ Ginny led Harry downstairs, kissing his cheek before taking ice cream out of the refrigerator. They decided to add some Muggle things to their lives and Harry found that he had missed all this. Seeing his much younger parents and family was amazing… but where Ginny was, was where he belonged._

_ "I had a strange dream, you know," Harry said as he ate the vanilla ice cream Ginny had bought recently. _

_ "What was it about?" Ginny asked._

_ "I had… returned to the days where my parents lived. They were eleven… and I was eleven," Harry shook his head. "It was nice getting to know them."_

_ Ginny smiled. "Bet it was."_

_ "I'm glad I'm back here though. I missed you a lot," Harry said, holding Ginny close. _

_ "Harry, I was only gone for a couple of hours," Ginny said, rolling her eyes._

_ "Felt like two years," Harry said wryly._

_ Ginny pressed a quick kiss to Harry's lips and hugged him tightly again. "I was so worried, you know," Ginny said quietly. "For one second, I thought you weren't there. The next second, you were lying there, sleeping."_

_ Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is this a dream?" Harry asked. Ginny didn't reply. All she did was smile at Harry. She walked upstairs, leaving Harry sitting at the kitchen counter, tapping a finger to his chin. Then James, Albus and Lily came down, along with Ginny._

_ "Hey you," Harry said, lifting Lily onto his lap. Lily giggled, poking Harry's nose. Ginny then took Lily from Harry, lifting the two year old girl into her arms. Harry grinned at his family._

_ But then, they began to fade. "What's happening…?" Harry asked. _

_ "I don't know…" Ginny said, eyes wide and scared. _

_ "Ginny…" Harry said, reaching for his wife, but she was gone. His kids disappeared. _

_ It was as if they never existed._

_ Then the door to Potter Manor bursted open, revealing James and Lily Potter, who looked as if they were in their fifties. Sirius and Remus were not far behind them. _

_ "Hey Paws," Sirius waved._

_ What…_

_ "Are you alright?" Lily asked, a concerned look on his face._

_ Harry was _not _alright. His real family had just disappeared and his supposedly dead family just walked through the door. _

_ "Mum?" Harry asked._

_ James began laughing. "It's sister-in-law, Harry!"_

_ "Where's my children?" Harry asked._

_ "Harry, you don't _have_ any…" Remus said, puzzled. _

_ "But Ginny…"_

_ "Ginny Weasley? Didn't she marry Dean Thomas or something?" Lily asked. Harry gaped. _

_ What happened? Did he change the future too much? What did he do?!_

_ "Where's your son?" Harry managed to ask Lily. _

_ "You mean David James?" Lily asked._

David James? What kind of name was David James? _Harry thought. _

_ He had ruined everything. He had changed too much._

_ Ginny.. Ginny… Her name echoed in Harry's mind. What did he do?_


	10. Third Year

"No… please," Harry murmured, twisting and turning in his sleep. "No… Ginny… James… Albus… Lily…. please…" Harry's cheeks were wet. "Please… please… PLEASE!"

Harry was wide awake then, three boys staring at him. "Are you alright, Harry?" Remus asked. Harry looked down at his lap.

"Fine," he said.

"Your definition of _fine_ isn't the same as ours," Sirius scoffed.

"What were you dreaming about?" James asked, his normally amused voice now gentle.

Harry bit his lip. There was no risk in telling them _parts _of his nightmare. "I… I had three kids. And my wife," Harry said slowly. "Ginny. A redhead," Harry said, smiling slightly. "Potter boys like redheads, don't we?"

"Continue," Remus pressed.

"My three kids… they were James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter," James and Sirius gave identical looks of disgust, "And Lily Luna Potter."

"Why Severus?" James asked, a scowl on his face. "Why not Remus?"

"Severus is not a bad person," Harry said, flicking James' ear. "And I didn't need to name anything after Remus. There was another person – Teddy Remus Lupin, my godson," Harry explained.

"And what happened in your dream?" Sirius pressed.

"I… did something. I'm not sure what exactly, but my kids disappeared… as if they never had existed… In my dream of course," Harry amended.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "It shouldn't have affected you so much, still."

Harry shrugged.

Remus gave him another suspicious look (honestly, he was too suspicious for his own good) as they entered King's Cross station, ready for their summer before third year.

…

"Happy birthday, Harry!" the Marauders exclaimed. Confetti shot out from their wands, making Harry's room messier than it already was.

"I was trying to clean my room!" Harry huffed. The Marauders were unabashed as their gleeful grins spread on their faces.

Sighing, Harry waved his wand and the confetti vanished and his room straightened itself.

"You _have_ to teach me that spell," James said. "My mum would never bother me again." Remus rolled his eyes and smacked James. "Ow! Keep your paws to yourself!" James laughed.

"Now let's go to James' room. The neatness of this place is making me shudder," Sirius said, moving his shoulders in an overdramatic shake.

Sirius got smacked by Remus as well and yelped. The four boys walked to James' room across the hall then. "You all finished your summer homework right?" Harry asked.

"Err…" James said, rubbing the back of his neck. Sirius was biting his lip.

"I'm only letting you off because it's my birthday," Harry said.

Harry received a Broomstick Servicing Kit, not unlike the one Hermione had given him, from Sirius. Remus had given Harry the best chocolate from Honeydukes' and James gave him a picture of the Marauders as they laughed. Not only that, but the three Marauders got Harry stuffed animals – a stag, a black dog, a wolf and a panther.

"Now we're all men," James announced loudly.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"We're all thirteen now!" Sirius said, as if that should have been obvious. "That means we're teenagers. That means we are _men!_" Sirius pounded his chest.

"Men that are short, with high voices and has not matured yet," Remus said, whispering to Harry. Harry grinned.

"Too true, Moony," Harry said.

James and Sirius was watching their exchange. "What?" they asked.

"Nothing," Harry and Remus chorused. James and Sirius narrowed their eyes.

"We're going to bake a cake for you," James announced. "But you have to stay in the living room," he said, "Because it's going to be a surprise cake."

Baking a cake to Harry was a piece of cake. (Pun intended.) But the Marauders baking one made Harry wary. But he did as they asked, sitting in the living room with a book propped open. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were out – again – off on a secret mission that Harry didn't bother to pester them about. That meant the four boys were in the house alone – though Twitch was there as well. Harry didn't trust the boys in a kitchen alone. But they forced him to sit still and Harry didn't want to ruin their high spirits.

"Drop the whisk!" Harry heard Sirius holler. The clang of a whisk dropping into a bowl was sounded and Harry winced as yelps came from the kitchen as well.

"Sirius watch out!" came Remus' shout.

"Remus, put down the flour!" James yelled, but a loud crash came from the kitchen and Harry stood immediately.

"Guys…" Harry asked. "Can I come into the kitchen now?"

"No!" they shouted. Then the sound of another crash came. "Come in," came Sirius' meek voice.

Harry rushed into the kitchen and found himself standing in flour. The kitchen was covered in it. Cracked eggs were on the floor _as well _as the ceiling. How did it even get up there? Milk was splattered on the floor and pots and pans lied in a disarray around the kitchen. The Marauders were not spared from the flour and were covered head to toe. James had an egg dripping on his hair.

Harry only stared.

Sighing, he ordered the Marauders out, casting a quick cleaning charm on them before letting them out into the living room. Thanking Merlin for magic, he cleaned the kitchen quickly.

Harry finished the cake by himself. Honestly, Harry didn't know what he was thinking when he allowed Remus, James and Sirius to bake something. Remus Lupin, James Potter and Sirius Black? Baking the Muggle way? Even in his head, it sounded ridiculous. But it was hilarious watching them try.

When Harry brought out the cake, the Marauders stood sheepishly. "What have we learned today?" Harry asked.

"Never let Remus handle flour?" James suggested.

"Never let James find a pan?" Sirius added.

"Never let Sirius near eggs?" Remus asked.

Harry sighed, putting down the cake.

"Never let you all do things the Muggle way," Harry said.

…

Third year arrived too soon. Harry watched the mountains and trees go by as he sat in the Marauders' compartment. They had claimed it for the rest of their school years, even going so far as to add a sign on the compartment door that said: Marauders' Compartment.

Remus was, once again, reading. James and Sirius were deep in discussion, talking about their latest pranks and Harry was staring off into the distance, wishing he could see his family in the future one last time. There was not a moment that passed by that Harry did not think of the future. Of his family. Of his friends.

But he was doing this so that they could have a good life. Harry sighed loudly.

"What?" Remus asked, looking up from his book.

"I want it to be sixth year," Harry said.

"Why?" James asked.

"Because then we're all mature and stuff. Maybe not you two," Harry said, gesturing to James and Sirius, "But at least Remus and I would be. There would be no O.W.L.'s or N.E.W.T.'s, but there would be exams. And our lessons would be more advance and we would be more powerful, but we would still have time at Hogwarts – unlike seventh year."

"I did not listen to a word you just said," Sirius said. "I only heard Hogwarts and seventh year."

"Me too," James said sheepishly.

"Don't worry," Harry said. "I don't even know what I said."

Laughs filled the Marauders' Compartment as the train chugged and whistled its way to Hogwarts.

…

"You know what this means, right?" Sirius asked as McGonagall announced the next Hogsmeade weekend.

"What?" Harry asked.

"_Dates_," Sirius said, smirking. "Hogsmeade weekends are purely made for couples and dates."

James perked up immediately. Harry scoffed. "Well, that means you're my date, Remus," Harry said, nudging his werewolf friend.

"I didn't know you swung that way, Harry," Sirius said, laughing.

"I don't look for girlfriends at thirteen," Harry said.

"Well I'm probably going to ask that blonde girl," Sirius pointed. The 'blonde girl' was a fellow Gryffindor in third year and was often seen giggling around Sirius. She had introduced herself as Kelly to Sirius over ten times, but Sirius still didn't get her name. "Maybe even the Hufflepuff in our Herbology class. I don't know her name but…"

"Cynthia?" Remus suggested.

"Whatever," Sirius said, waving a hand in dismissal.

"Or the brunette," Sirius said, gesturing to the curvy fourth year girl across the common room. "Or…"

"We get it, Padfoot," James said, silencing his best friend. "Any girl that's pretty."

"Three guesses on who Prongs is going to ask," Sirius said then.

"Lily!" Harry and Remus chorused. James scowled, but didn't correct them.

"Be polite," Harry coached. "And _do not_ brag. At all. I'm sending Remus as a guard," Harry said, gently pushing Remus over to James. Remus glared at Harry but walked with James over to Lily, who was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Sirius and Harry neared them, able to stay discreet but still able to eavesdrop.

"Hey Lily," James said. With those two words, Sirius looked like he wanted to burst out laughing. So did Harry. James sounded so shy and unsure. It was a good change for him. Lily raised an eyebrow, dropping the book she had been reading.

"Hi James. Remus," she said, acknowledging them with a nod.

"I have a question for you," James said.

"What?" Lily asked.

James was now shuffling his feet. Sirius looked like he was going to burst as he looked at his best friend – who could have faced down _McGonagall_, but couldn't ask a girl out.

James said an inaudible sentence and Harry and Sirius craned their necks, trying to hear Lily's answer.

"Sorry, what was that?" Lily asked. Remus was still standing to the side, looking incredibly awkward and incredulous as he looked at James. His expression was similar to Sirius', the incredulousness of seeing his friend so shy.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?" James asked. There. He said it.

"Um…" Lily started. "Sure."

Then Remus hooted, as did Sirius and Harry who surged forward and started to do the happy dance.

"Did you hear that!?" Harry shouted. "My brother just scored a date with Lily Evans!" he hollered. "_The_ Lily Evans! The lucky duck!"

"After two years of crushing on the same girl!" Remus said, pumping his fist in the air.

"My best friend just had his dreams come true!" Sirius yelled. The entire common room had quieted, staring at the Marauders as if they were insane. Harry stood on the couch, towering over the rest.

"James Potter is taking Lily Evans out to Hogsmeade!" he shouted, and the common room bursted into cheers. It was a widely known fact that James Potter had a crush on Lily Evans – ever since James had asked Lily to kiss him during the Sorting and he had gotten slapped.

Harry was surprised. Was James being mature and _not_ being arrogant that big of a difference? Sirius had told him that Lily agreed to go out with James in seventh year. It was only third year. Harry was making big changes. He grimaced but plastered a smile on his face.

"Sirius, go get food from the kitchens. Go with him, Remus," Harry said. "We're throwing a party!"

Lily was blushing madly, as was James. Harry sat back down on the couch, eying the blushing Gryffindors. "Welcome to the family, Lily," Harry smiled.

…

Snape had been fuming when Lily had told him she was going to go to Hogsmeade with James. Harry had watched his reaction carefully. It was easy to see that Snape felt betrayed and thought that Lily had chosen James over him.

Harry had been upset. If Snape continued on the path of jealousy, he was going to lose his best friend and Lily was going to lose hers. That, and Snape was going to end up a Death Eater. Hopefully Harry would have destroyed all the Horcruxes and Voldemort by then.

Sirius had decided not to take a date. Remus and Sirius were going to spy on James and Lily for their date. Harry was going to stay at Hogwarts. The boys had questioned it because after all, it _was_ the first visit for Hogsmeade, but Harry needed to talk to Dumbledore. Harry made an excuse and watched his friends leave for the small wizarding village before dashing back into the castle.

Harry sprinted down the familiar corridors to the gargoyle, sprouting candy names at a random. When finally he had gotten the right one (Cockroach Clusters), he raced to Dumbledore's door, knocking on it loudly with his clenched fist. "Professor Dumbledore," he called. "It's about Voldemort!"

"Enter," came Dumbledore's still calm voice.

Harry opened it and found Dumbledore sitting at his desk, his half-moon glasses on his crooked nose as he peered at Harry.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "Take a seat."

He conjured a chair for Harry and Harry sat down on it, keeping his eyes on the Headmaster. "Voldemort has Horcruxes," Harry said, not beating around the bush. "I have been destroying them. Currently he has three. I have destroyed two. I need your help."

Dumbledore had faint surprise on his face as he raised an eyebrow. "How did you come to know this?"

"Through you actually," Harry said. He launched into his tale of the future and telling the old man, whom Harry had come to know as his teacher and mentor, was very therapeutic. It felt nice to finally get the weight of his chest. He was not the only one bearing the heavy knowledge anymore. He told Dumbledore his story from start to finish.

"The next Horcrux I wanted to find Salazar Slytherin's locket," Harry said. "The potion… I will drink it this time."

"Are you sure of this, Harry?" Dumbledore said, blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It is a very far-fetched tale. How do I know that I can trust you?"

"You used to teach Transfiguration," Harry said. "Tom Riddle was one of your students. You had two other siblings," Harry winced slightly. Dumbledore still looked skeptical.

"I can tell you that your favourite jam is raspberry," Harry said.

"Well, I'm convinced," Dumbledore said, a smile on his face.

Harry sighed, glad that Dumbledore always looked on the good side of people first. "Students should be returning from their Hogsmeade visits soon. We shall have our 'tutoring sessions,'" Dumbledore said, "Every Thursday. You can tell me more of your story then. Thursday night, eight o' clock sharp."

Harry nodded, standing and walking to Dumbledore's door. "Goodbye, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Goodbye, Professor Dumbledore."

**Think we can get to 100 reviews?!**


	11. All For A Locket

"James," Harry said, snapping his fingers in front of his twin's face. Not father, but brother. This was Harry's new life now, and he had to accept it. "James Potter!" Harry shouted, shaking James' shoulders. Finally, James snapped out of his stupor, though he still had a dreamy look on his face.

"Do you know what she did?" James asked as he fell back onto his bed. Sirius and Remus were off in the kitchens, leaving Harry alone to deal with James. Harry cursed his friends inwardly, promising himself that he would get revenge.

"James, we should start on our Charms homework," Harry said gently.

"Charms…" James said dreamily. "Lily loves Charms," James giggled. Harry stared at his brother. James Potter just _giggled._ "She's so brilliant," James said.

"What did she do to you?" Harry stared in horror.

"She…" James giggled again, cutting himself off.

"_Aguamenti!"_ Harry shouted, spraying James with ice cold water.

"Harry James Potter!" James shrieked, finally coherent.

"What did she do to you?" Harry asked.

Then back to giggling James.

"She… kissed my cheek," James said, a goofy smile on his face.

"Oh dear," Harry said. Finally, Remus and Sirius came back in.

"Remus John Lupin!" Harry hollered. "How could you leave me with… _this?_" he asked, gesturing to James.

"What about Sirius?" Remus asked.

"I don't really expect anything from him," Harry said, a slight chuckle in his words. "You're the one that spied on them. What happened?" Harry asked.

James was still sighing and giggling and it was getting on Harry's nerves very quickly. "_Petrificus Totalus,_" Harry said and James froze, eyes wide and frightened.

"You are going to stay like that until you stop giggling," Harry commanded, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He sighed heavily. "I'm getting a migraine watching over you all."

"Well, Prongsie heard that girls liked to go to Madam Puddifoot's," Sirius started. "It looked like hell, just in pink," Sirius explained. Harry fought back a smile. He hated that place and was lucky Ginny did as well. "So when Prongs suggested they go there, Lily looked like she was about to hurl, but she didn't say no and they went. Moony and I were spying on them _outside_ of that place. I am never going in there… unless there's a girl with me that's worth while."

"Worth while as in a snog or worth while as in _for real_," Remus scoffed. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What do you think? For a snog of course!" Sirius said, as if that should have been obvious from the start.

"Whatever," Harry said, dismissing it all with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to bed. I'm not going to deal with your hormonal teenage boys issues anymore. Someone _Finite Incantatem_ James, but if no one does, I don't really care. Good night," Harry said, flopping onto his bed and closing his eyes.

…

It was already Christmas time, but Harry hadn't seen Dumbledore since October, if you didn't count mealtimes. Their schedules always conflicted and though Horcruxes should have been highest priority, keeping up appearances was as well. Dumbledore couldn't let anyone know that he was up to something to others because during those times, no one knew who they could trust.

Harry was getting more and more agitated and unfortunately, the Marauders spotted his impatience.

The Marauders had signed up to stay at Hogwarts over holiday break because Sirius didn't want to stay with his family, Mr. and Mrs. Potter was off on _another_ mission and Remus just wanted to keep us company.

Still, opening Christmas presents took Harry's mind off the Horcruxes and the future. Harry had received a book on jinxes and hexes from Remus, a large assortment of candies from Sirius and a new broomstick from James. Harry felt bad for the last one because he knew he wouldn't use it. His Firebolt was leagues ahead the Nimbus 1400, but he would disguise his Firebolt as the Nimbus, just to make James feel better. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sent him a new set of dress robes and Harry was pleasantly surprised. He didn't think that they would have sent him anything.

Sirius had gotten a pair of Quidditch gloves from James, a book on dogs and how to train them from Harry (which Sirius scowled at) and a book on advance Ancient Runes from Remus. Sirius had been excelling in his class and looked genuinely intrigued by the book. He received a bunch of other gifts from his admirers around the school and even a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Potter but he received none from his family. Harry could help but notice Sirius' slightly disappointed face.

James received (ironically) the same broom that he had given Harry _from_ Harry. He had been overjoyed to see the Nimbus 1400 and was eager to ride with his twin. Remus had given a book (honestly, he always gives out books, and Harry had smiled as he noticed Remus' gift giving pattern) about advance Transfiguration, which had included a large section on Animagi. From his parents, he received a set of dress robes as well and Harry and James exchanged looks, wondering what kind of horrible party they had to go to next.

An owl flew into the Gryffindor common room then, landing near Harry and extending its leg out. Harry untied the letter from the owl's leg and the owl flew off without waiting for a treat, a tip or even a rewarding word.

Harry opened it and all it said was:

_Tonight._

_-A.P.W.B.D._

_P.S. Vampires._

"Who's that from?" Sirius asked, peering over Harry's shoulder.

"What does that even mean? Remus asked. "Very cryptic, if you ask me."

"Who has such a long name anyways? Three middle names!" James pointed out. "And what's with the vampires?"

Harry shrugged, as if he didn't know. "Are you going to go out?" Remus asked.

"Probably," Harry nodded, knowing the Marauders wouldn't forgive him if he lied. "Just a quick scope around to see if anyone is actually waiting for me."

"But what do they mean by vampires? Do you think this guy is actually a vampire?" James asked. Harry smiled at James' guesses. Most likely, Dumbledore meant that password. And his password was always a candy type so it had to be _blood pops._

"Do you want us to come with you?" Sirius asked.

"Nah," Harry said. "I can definitely tackle down a vampire if I can handle you three," Harry joked.

"Okay, we're never helping you again," James scowled.

…

Harry walked out of the common room after the other Marauders retired to their room. He quickly made it to Dumbledore's office after saying "Blood Pops" to the gargoyle.

Dumbledore was waiting for him, calmly sipping some tea as Harry sat down in the chair that he conjured.

"I suppose you could tell me more and then we can go to this locket you've told me about," Dumbledore suggested. Harry nodded before launching into the rest of his tale, this time, without glossing over the details.

"We have to swim to get to the cave, Professor and there's a lake between us and the locket. The locket's on a rock, right in the center of it. The Inferi are in the lake and there's a boat that can get us across and it's a blood access kind of cave so if you don't mind, Professor, to give up _your_ blood so that I can drink the potion," Harry said. Dumbledore nodded. "But even if I beg to stop, don't let me stop, alright?" Harry asked. "And you can fend off the Inferi. I'll also need water after drinking it – probably – so I'm bringing a Muggle water bottle. All clear?"

Dumbledore nodded again. "Alright. I'll Apparate us there and…"

"You can Apparate?" Dumbledore asked. "Oh, how silly of me. You're in your thirties, aren't you?" Dumbledore said, smiling slightly. "It's easy to forget that you're not actually thirteen if you take a quick glance but if you look a little deeper…" Dumbledore smiled wryly. "You can see the man that's underneath. Be careful, Mr. Potter. Your eyes really _do _hold the windows to your soul."

With that cryptic message, Dumbledore grasped Harry's shoulder. "Apparate away, Harry," Dumbledore said and Harry focused on the cave as hard as he could.

With the uncomfortable feeling of being sucked through a small tube, there came a proud feeling because Harry could still Apparate. Harry dove into the frigid water, closely followed by Dumbledore. Harry swam through the waves, casting a _lumos _charm to see what's in front of him. It was already midnight and pitch black and the freezing water didn't help Harry get to the cave faster.

Finally, they reached the shore and they dried off magically before reaching the cave entrance.

"Ah Tom," Dumbledore sighed. "Using a blood entry so people would be weakened before entering. Luckily, I am slightly more experienced than average wizards." Dumbledore cut his finger slightly, without wincing. He pressed his bleeding finger to the entrance and the door opened as Dumbledore healed his finger. Harry didn't pay any attention to any of it though. He was trying to prepare himself for his worst memories.

As they settled into the boat, Harry grew increasingly worried. What would he see? If a potion could make _Albus Dumbledore_ weak and whimpering… what would become of Harry?

Harry was sure that the locket inside the basin at the center of the lake was the real one. Regulus wasn't a Death Eater yet and Harry was going to make sure that he wouldn't become one. He would have to talk to Sirius later, but now he had to focus. His magical core was not as strong as Dumbledore's, but still strong. Harry had done lots of physical exercise to keep his magical core healthy.

The two wizards got off, careful not to touch the ominous, black waters. Dumbledore conjured a bowl for Harry to drink from and Harry shut his eyes tightly.

Grimacing, Dumbledore scooped out the potion from the basin and brought it to Harry's lips. Harry gulped it down as quick as he could, as if that would stop the consequences but it didn't. Harry fell onto his knees.

**_He was just a baby, sitting in his crib. Just a baby, but he was destined for tragedies. Lily Potter stood above him, peering at him with worried green eyes, eyes that were just like his. Then Voldemort came, as did the screams._**

**_He heard his father shout and his mother's scream as James Potter fell, dead. _**

"No…" Harry said incoherently. "No! Please don't make me," Harry begged as Dumbledore forced the potion to his lips. The pain… Harry had never felt anything like this before. He felt like he was going to die and it was even worse than the dreaded Cruciatus. Harry bit back a scream.

**_Lily Potter stood in front of her son, defending him. Words were exchanged between Lily and Voldemort, but Harry didn't want to listen. With another scream, Lily Potter fell dead, just like her husband had._**

"No, please," Harry begged, his tears falling down like a waterfall. "I'll do anything," Harry pleaded, but Dumbledore did not listen as he fed Harry the potion again. Why was Dumbledore doing this to him?

**_Sirius was there, punching Lucius Malfoy's face as hard as he could. But then a curse hit Sirius's body, making him fall into the veil._**

"Please, no!" Harry shouted. "Sirius! No…" Harry begged, eyes glazed over. Pain wracked his body as if the Cruciatus was being used on him. Fire flooded through Harry's veins, unpleasant and painful. Dumbledore fed him more of the potion again, ignoring Harry's pleas. Did Dumbledore not understand the pain he was going through? Harry wanted to scream but he couldn't, for the potion was on his tongue and pain was all he knew…

**_Tonks and Remus lied side by side. _****You let them die****_… came a voice in Harry's head._**

"No! I'm sorry…" Harry said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry!"

**_Sirius fell through the veil… _****It was your stupidity****_… came the same voice._**

"I'm sorry," Harry pleaded. "I'm sorry…" Tears fell in a continuous rhythm but Dumbledore did not relent with the potion. "Please don't make me…" But Harry was cut off, for the bowl was brought to Harry's lips and the cursed potion slid down Harry's throat.

**_James and Lily Potter fell, dead and untouched. Fred lied there, surrounded by crying family. Colin Creevey, so innocent and quiet in death… it didn't suit him. Pale and lifeless. _**

"I'm sorry…" Harry said weakly. It was only Dumbledore's grip on him that kept him upright.

"That's the last of it," Dumbledore said. Harry's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Harry was not strong enough… He had led those people to their deaths. It was _his fault_. Harry continued to cry until he could not cry anymore. Blackness swept over him and Harry knew no more.


	12. The Founders

Harry woke up groggily rubbing his eyes. He found himself lying down in a white bed. Everything was white. Sterile. _Plain. _He knew this place like he knew the back of his hand. He was in the infirmary. Harry sighed. He spent _way_ too much time in that place.

Then he found three worried faces, staring down at him. "Do you need something?" Harry asked, trying to sit up.

"We were suppose to ask _you_ that question," James said, helping his brother sit and propping a pillow against his back for him.

"What _happened_ to you last night?" Sirius asked, sitting down on the edge of Harry's infirmary bed.

"Mr. Potter unfortunately got stunned by a Slytherin while he snuck out to the kitchens, I believe?" came another voice. Dumbledore was at the end of Harry's bed, his hands behind his back.

"Yes," Harry nodded, as if it was nothing knew to him.

Sirius leaned closer to Harry. "Want us to prank the Slytherins for you?" Sirius asked.

Harry smiled but he knew he had to talk to Dumbledore soon.

"You all!" came Madam Pomfrey's angry voice. "Visiting hours are _clearly_ over! Mr. Potter needs rest! Not ogling!"

Remus, Sirius and James looked down at their feet, cheeks slightly red. "And Mr. Lupin. Shouldn't you be somewhere?" Dumbledore asked. Remus immediately straightened and said a very un-Remus like thing. He ran out the doors like a mad man, disappearing out of Harry's sight.

"Oh yeah…" Harry realized. "Full moon."

Sirius and James quickly left after meeting Madam Pomfrey's angry glare but Dumbledore stayed, meeting the glare with a smile. "My dear Poppy," Dumbledore started. "I simply need to take the boy out. After all, a good stroll always helps," Dumbledore said.

Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes. "I'm feeling completely fine," Harry piped up.

"You see?" Dumbledore said.

"One hour and come back," Madam Pomfrey decided. Harry rose from the bed, slightly wobbling from lying down so long. He still felt quite weak, but he had a Horcrux to destroy.

Dumbledore's light face became troubled as they walked together to Dumbledore's office. "It would be easier with Godric Gryffindor's sword," Harry suggested as they walked. "It's in the Sorting Hat. We just need to add some basilisk venom and…"

"Basilisk venom?" Dumbledore asked, surprised. "I thought you couldn't speak Parseltongue anymore."

"I can't," Harry shrugged. "Ordered it from Borgin and Burkes."

"That must have cost a fortune," Dumbledore said. "Blood Pops." The gargoyle permitted entry then and the two wizards walked into the Headmaster's office.

"I saved up," Harry shrugged. "And I always bring Galleons around with me. I used all of the pocket money the Potters gave me as well. I'm broke now," Harry frowned. "I still haven't paid for all of it yet… but I had given a vow to the shop owner," Harry shrugged. "I have to pay back everything and I'm using the money the Potters give me."

"Perhaps I can give you some Galleons from my own vault," Dumbledore suggested.

Harry bit his lip. He had to give three hundred more Galleons… "Alright," Harry said. He slipped out his wand then. "_Accio_ basilisk venom," Harry said and he waited. And waited, tapping his feet as well when finally, the tiny jar of venom came zooming through Dumbledore's door and into Harry's hand.

Dumbledore had already retrieved the Sorting Hat and Harry held it in his hands. He didn't want to slip it on and risk being knocked out. Hoping for the sword to appear, Harry reached inside the hat. Thankfully, the sword was there and Harry took it out, the metal and rubies brightly gleaming.

Dumbledore seemed mildly impressed and Harry felt proud that he could impress the old wizard – who had seen many things in his long life. Dipping the sword into the basilisk venom, he saw the sword begin to absorb the poisonous liquid.

"Where's the locket?" Harry asked, brandishing the sword in his right hand. Dumbledore slowly levitated the locket from his desk, gently depositing it on the ground in front of Harry. Then Harry remembered and he groaned. "I have to speak Parseltongue in order for it to open!" Harry cursed loudly, swinging the sword down on the locket, but nothing happened.

"Well," Dumbledore sighed. "We are in quite a pickle."

Harry hissed at the locket, but nothing worked. Harry shut his eyes. "He won, didn't he," Harry said. "He _won_."

"Now Harry, don't be so pessimistic," Dumbledore said cheerily.

Harry's eyes flashed angrily. "We can't get to the Horcrux! I drank that bloody potion for _nothing_!"

"Calm down, Harry," Dumbledore said sternly. "You are not a child." Harry rolled his eyes. He was a man in his thirties who was stuck in his thirteen year old body.

"What hope is there left?" Harry said miserably.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I swear, you are going through puberty again. Ah, the teenage mood swings," Dumbledore said. "The dramatics and the flair. My dear boy, we have Founder portraits. So you do not need to fret."

"Oh," was all Harry could say.

…

The next morning, Harry was sitting with the Marauders again – except for Remus, who was resting in the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey had been so busy fretting over Remus (it had been a bad night) that she had forgotten that Harry had to return to her to be checked up. Harry was sad that Remus had hurt himself so badly, but couldn't help but feel grateful that he didn't have to go back to the smothering nurse.

Harry munched on his toast as he read the Daily Prophet. Pushing his glasses up on his nose, he sipped his tea.

"I swear… you look so much like my dad that it's not even funny," James said, scooping eggs onto his plate.

Harry shrugged. "How much do you want to bet that you get glasses by… say… end of third year?" Harry asked.

"A Galleon," James challenged. "I bet I don't get glasses at all."

"I'm game," Sirius said. "I say that Pro – James," Sirius amended, "Won't get glasses until fourth year."

James rolled his eyes and scanned the Great Hall. "Hey," James whispered, nudging Harry. "Where's Lily?" Harry shrugged. James nudged him again then.

"What?" Harry asked irritably, flipping the page in the Daily Prophet. He was trying to find news of Death Eater attacks.

"Colette Harris," James said. "Pure-blood from Ravenclaw." Sirius immediately zoomed in on the girl, who seemed to be looking for something. Her eyes, like James, had been scanning the crowd. "We have her for Defense and I think she's interested in our furry little friend," James grinned.

Harry looked up. Colette Harris… Perhaps… Remus had a special little friend before…? But… what about Tonks?

"She's pretty fit," Sirius said. "I approve." Colette Harris was indeed 'fit,' as Sirius called her. She had wavy blonde hair that extended to her waist and blue eyes that Harry could see from across the hall. But there was something familiar about Colette… something that reminded Harry a lot of his friend Luna Lovegood.

"I heard she's into potions and such," Sirius said. "She likes experimenting." Harry straightened immediately.

"And that she's into our Remus," James said, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh no," Harry said, shaking his head. "No way."

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "I think Remus would do well with a girl."

"Wait…" Harry stood up. "I need to ask Colette something." Harry walked over to the Ravenclaw table as whispers erupted. Harry was, after all, a Marauder. A popular, good-looking bloke, even if he was thirteen, or 'thirteen.'

Harry stopped right in front of Colette, who looked up, shocked that she found a Marauder in front of her. Her friends around her were giggling. "I have a question," Harry said. Colette simply nodded for Harry to continue. "If you were to name your firstborn – if she was a girl, I mean – what would you name her?" Harry asked.

Colette thought about it. "Luna," she answered. Harry's eyes widened considerably.

"Thanks," Harry said and he walked away, questions turning in his mind.

"Perhaps he wanted to date you," came one of Colette's friends. Harry could still hear them.

"You lucky girl," came another one. "Two Marauders! Remus and Harry!"

"Stop it!" came Colette's voice. Harry could practically hear the blush in her voice.

"Maybe… he was asking for Remus!"

Harry turned around, walking back to Colette. "I couldn't help but overhear," Harry said simply. The girls who had spoken – including Colette – blushed heavily. "It was just a simple question. I hope you don't look into it too much."

Harry's tone was light and friendly, definitely not harsh. Hopefully, Colette wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"Of course," Colette nodded and Harry walked away, back to the staring James and Sirius.

"Absolutely off limits," Harry said then, sliding back down into his seat next to James.

"Why?" James asked. "Does she not like… furry creatures?"

"I'm pretty sure she loves them," Harry thought. "But no. I'm sure Colette will find the right guy. It's just not Remus."

If Harry couldn't see James Sirius, Albus Severus or Lily Luna… then Harry would at least have to see Teddy and Luna.

…

_Devil's number._

_ What is the opposite of wrong? What is the opposite of that answer? _

_A work of art._

_Where there is a fragrance there is the renewal of life. A symbolic reference of love, regret, hate and forgiveness. As it dies, it is reborn. Beautiful and fragile, simple and elegant. _

_ Hogwarts Founders Four. _

- _A.P.W.B.D._

_P.S. Powers of persuasion persuades the pertaining problem. Please put your powers in play, and prance around with praise. (See what I just did there?)_

The locket was brought along with the envelope in a dragon hide pouch.

Harry rolled his eyes and sent the barn owl back to Dumbledore with his reply. Remus was still in the infirmary and James and Sirius were already in bed. This was a perfect time to go.

The cryptic message he had said obviously were clues to the hidden room with the Founders' portraits. _Devil's number…_

That was easy. It was six.

Harry didn't bother with an Invisibility Cloak or a Disillusion Charm, though he would prefer he didn't meet any authority figures. He could always just say that he was doing something for Dumbledore. With the dragon hide pouch stuffed in his pocket, he was off, sprinting to the sixth floor.

Harry raced up the stairs to the sixth floor as quietly as he could. Then he froze. There were voices, just around the corner. Quickly, Harry casted the Disillusion Charm on himself having slight difficulty. He still was weak from drinking that potion, but the charm worked nonetheless. Harry shivered from the feeling of an egg being cracked on his head. But Harry didn't dare breathe or make a sound of complaint.

There were two voices conversing. Who would be up at the sixth floor at this time? But then Harry recognized a voice. Severus Snape. He couldn't tell who was the other person, but he knew it was a male.

"Why do you hang out with that Mudblood?" hissed the unidentifiable voice.

"I…" Snape stammered for an answer. "She's… different."

"They are all the same. Now if you don't distance yourself from her, her filth will be on you too." The voice that spoke sounded threatening and Harry felt a pang of pity for the greasy boy, for he was caught between his love and his life.

Footsteps sounded then and Harry flattened himself upon a wall and hoped the two boys that walked down wouldn't touch him. Snape neared Harry and Harry held his breath. He felt his face turn blue.

The other boy was still hidden in darkness, but it didn't matter who it was. Harry knew that he spoke for all the Death Eaters. "Severus," barked the hidden boy. "Let's go."

Snape turned and left then, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Questions about Snape floated around in his mind but he pushed them away for later. He had a locket to open.

Harry struggled to remember what the letter from Dumbledore had said. Though he had it with him, he didn't want to cast a _lumos_ charm until absolutely necessary.

_What is the opposite of wrong? What is the opposite of that answer? _

Opposite of wrong… The opposite of wrong was _correct. _Or _right._ Right made more sense than correct. And the opposite of right is wrong! Harry cursed knowing that it obviously wasn't the answer. Right… _Left!_

So the hidden room was on the left side.

Harry sighed, wishing Dumbledore hadn't been so cryptic and secretive about it. He knew why, of course. Only the Headmaster was suppose to know where the portraits were. They weren't suppose to tell students the location of it and if Harry's letter had been intercepted or read by others (James and Sirius) when it had the exact location on it…

_ A work of art._ Easy. A painting. So the hidden entrance was behind a painting.

_Where there is a fragrance there is the renewal of life. A symbolic reference of love, regret, hate and forgiveness. As it dies, it is reborn. Beautiful and fragile, simple and elegant. _

Fragrance. What has fragrance? Lots of things have fragrance. Skip.

Renewal of life… Harry could only think of a phoenix, but the next part didn't make sense. _Symbolic reference of_ _love, regret, hate and forgiveness?_ Harry was pretty sure phoenixes represented power and healing and only power and healing. Skip.

_As it dies, it is reborn_. Back to the phoenix. Skip.

_Beautiful and fragile, simple and elegant._ Definitely not a phoenix. Harry groaned. Hermione would have known. Hermione always knew. Harry felt that the answer should have been incredibly easy, but it just wasn't coming to Harry.

Harry only had one plan left. Go to every painting and try to match it up. "_Lumos_," Harry whispered, and the tip of his wand lit up. Wishing he had the Hand of Glory (light that would only show light to its beholder), he walked forward. There was a painting of some sleeping men who were quite pudgy. They groaned when Harry neared them with a bright light.

"Go away!" said one of the men.

Fragrance. Definitely no fragrance there. The men looked like they had been dumped in a trailer park and left to rot.

The next painting was of a woman, holding a flower to her chest. Perhaps she had a type of fragrance but there was no renewal of life. Harry stared hard at the painting when a thought came to him.

The woman was holding a flower. Flowers had fragrance. And they were renewed with their seeds and what not. Also, flowers symbolized lots of things, didn't they? When a flower wilted, there was always another seed that grew in its place, right? Beautiful and fragile, simple and elegant. It all fit.

Excited, Harry searched for the flower painting on the left side of every corridor on the sixth floor when he finally found it.

There was a painting of flowers swaying in the wind. _Hogwarts Founders Four._ That would have been the hint to the password.

"Founders?" Harry suggested. The painting didn't open. "Founders Four?" Nothing. "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin?" Nope. Harry switched the order of the names, but nothing happened. After twenty more tries, Harry slumped. And he had been so excited too.

Then a thought reached him. Maybe… just maybe… "Hogwarts Founders Four," Harry said confidently. The painting swung open and grinning, Harry entered it. The painting swung close behind him. Holding up his wand and expanding the light, he saw the sleepy faces of the Founders.

"Dumbledore?" came a groggy sound. Suddenly, the lights in the room came on and three portraits became visible in front of Harry.

Rowena Ravenclaw looked very stiff and very formal, but there was no denying that she was beautiful. She possessed a certain grace and aristocratic air and reminded Harry of some other adults that he had known.

Helga Hufflepuff was more plump and oddly reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley. She had the same friendly air and looked as if she would hug anyone she met.

Then there was Godric Gryffindor, regal and sitting straight, much like a king. Dressed in fine robes of red and gold, he stared at Harry with scrutiny.

"You are not the Headmaster," Gryffindor accused.

"I was sent here," Harry said, raising his hands in surrender. In doing so, he raised his robes and revealed the sword of Gryffindor, tucked into his belt.

Gryffindor stared at Harry with surprise. "You have my sword," Gryffindor said plainly.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, though he didn't know why. He felt strangely inferior in the presence of the Founders. "Yeah."

"Don't you have a way with words," Ravenclaw said sarcastically, her nose high in the air.

"I think he's cute," Hufflepuff interrupted.

"What business do you have with us at this time of night?" Gryffindor asked.

"I'm looking for… Salazar Slytherin," Harry admitted. Gryffindor roared in outrage then.

"Out! Get out!" he shouted.

"Calm down! I'm doing this because I need his Parseltongue. You see Voldemort made these Horcruxes…"

"Horcruxes!" Hufflepuff gasped. Gryffindor shut up.

Ravenclaw narrowed his eyes at Harry but did not say a word. "Voldemort – I'm sure you know who he is," Harry said.

Hufflepuff nodded. "Dumbledore told us."

"Well he created Horcruxes because he wanted to become immortal… and…" How would the Founders react to their precious items being destroyed? "He used his own diary…"

Gryffindor scoffed. "A man. Having a diary," Gryffindor said, completely unimpressed. Harry shrugged. He had nothing against men having diaries. He just hated men having diaries that turned into evil Horcruxes that possessed his wife.

"He used the Gaunt ring…" Harry saw no point in telling them about the Deathly Hallows. That would take way too long. "Oh, I should tell you that this is all he has _so far_. I'm sure he would split his soul even more," Harry said.

"Disgusting," Ravenclaw said.

"He used… the Ravenclaw diadem…" Harry said nervously.

"That… what?!" Ravenclaw shouted. "He used _my_ diadem?!" she roared.

"And I kind of… destroyed it…" Harry said.

Ravenclaw's intelligent eyes narrowed on Harry. "Well…" she said snootily. "I suppose I will let you off. Just because it was a Horcrux."

"Hufflepuff's cup," Harry said. "It's in the Lestrange's vault and I haven't gotten to that one yet."

Hufflepuff sighed unhappily and she looked fairly angry, though she didn't explode like her fellow Founder.

"And Salazar Slytherin's locket," Harry finished. Harry pulled out his dragon hide pouch containing the locket. Even as portraits, the three Founders could feel the evil emanating from the pouch. "To open this locket, I need to use Parseltongue. Voldemort is actually the heir of Slytherin… and I'm afraid that Slytherin won't unlock it for me because that would mean his heir is one step closer to dying off."

"Has my…" Ravenclaw started.

But Harry shook his head. "The only heirs of the Founders that we know of is Voldemort, James Potter and me."

"You," Gryffindor said, sizing Harry up. Harry had purpose not worn the Gryffindor tie, knowing Slytherin would blow a fuse if he knew. Harry shrugged, not sure what else to do.

"I really need to destroy this Horcrux. Dumbledore had told me, or at least insinuated, that Salazar Slytherin's portrait would be here," Harry said.

Gryffindor sighed and then his portrait swung open, leading into yet another room. Casting the _lumos_ charm again, Harry walked into the hidden alcove.

There appeared Salazar Slytherin with his silver and green robes. Harry was surprised to know that he had a portrait at Hogwarts, but he supposed it was only fair. He _did_ help create the castle Harry stood in.

"Who are you?" Slytherin demanded.

"Harry James Potter," Harry said.

"What do you want?" Slytherin asked bitterly.

"I come to seek your greatness," Harry said, bowing lowly. He had no doubt that the other portraits could hear him and suspected that Slytherin was the one that couldn't hear them.

"My greatness, huh?" Slytherin said, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You possess the great gift of Parseltongue," Harry said, keeping his head low in respect.

"Yes, I do," Slytherin said, rather pompously. But Harry knew that he was still suspicious of Harry.

"Your locket," Harry said, taking out the dragon hide pouch. "It has been tainted with evil. A man used it as a Horcrux."

"What?!" Slytherin roared. His reaction was even worse than Ravenclaw's. "Who did this?" Slytherin demanded.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Harry said. "Or Voldemort." Slytherin was silent. Carefully, without touching it, Harry took out the locket.

"I need to destroy this locket," Harry said, "So that the Horcrux can be obliterated inside it. You are the only one that can open it for me because you are the most powerful out of the Hogwarts Four. You can speak the language of the snakes," Harry said.

Slytherin straightened immediately, nose in the air. "I suppose I will," he said.

"Your generosity is truly great, sir," Harry said. Harry was laying it really thick and was surprised that Slytherin was buying it all. A depressing thought came to Harry then. Was it because Slytherin never received a true compliment before?

Slytherin hissed something then – probably the word _open_ – and Harry sighed. He sometimes missed his Parseltongue. It had been extremely convenient. But then Harry was distracted. The locket had opened.

Harry brandished the sword in his hand and Slytherin scowled, knowing it was the sword of Gryffindor that was destroying his locket.

Then five faces appeared out of the locket.

"_You let us die_," hissed Remus. _Oh Merlin,_ Harry thought. _Not this again. _But Harry found himself transfixed on the image before him.

"_You absolute idiot. You can't fix this," _Sirius said_. "You will never be able to and I cannot believe that we had ever believed in you. You're just another disappointment."_

_ "It hurts to look at you," _Lily said then, turning away._ "You _failed_ in protecting our family." _

James Potter glared at Harry, the look on his face making Harry wanting to cry. But then there was Ginny, which was the worst of them all.

"_You abandoned us!" _Ginny roared. "_You left us there and you simply ran away, you coward!"_

"Destroy the locket, fool!" Slytherin said and with one great slash, the Horcrux was no more. The horrid screams filled the tiny room and faded away, just to be replaced by Harry's heavy breathing. He didn't notice the tear that was streaking down his face. That was his nightmare – every night. Every night, he would see their faces. The utter anger and disappointment.

The locket was blackened and looked as if it had been burned. Slytherin was silent. "I'm sorry," Harry said then. "I'm sorry your locket was destroyed. Would you like to keep it?"

Slytherin looked surprised at his apology. "No," Slytherin said, shaking his head.

"I will take my leave now," Harry said, bowing shortly before exiting through Gryffindor's portrait. The locket was clutched in his hand.

The Founders looked at Harry somberly and Harry turned to face the three of them. "We should move back Slytherin's portrait back in here," Harry said.

"What?" Gryffindor asked.

"No one likes being alone for a thousand years," Harry said. "Even if it's just a portrait. He looked surprised when I had apologized and when I had complimented him. That…" Harry shook his head.

"I still can't believe you laid it on so thick," Ravenclaw shook her head. "I would have immediately seen through your act."

"He hasn't been given a compliment in so long," Harry reminded her. "You were his best friends once. You should start acting like it. He is at fault as well, but it's been a long time. You should just forgive him."

And Harry left, the burned locket in his left hand and the sword of Gryffindor in his right. His wand was back in its holster and Harry set off in the dark, going to Dumbledore's office before his own dorm.

**I know that they probably didn't have a room with the portraits inside, but whatever. And that Gryffindor's portrait wasn't on the sixth floor behind some flower painting. When I finally researched it, I had already written most of it and I was too lazy to change it to seventh floor and the password 'Starshine.'**

**It's 1:30AM, so I'm signing off!**

**Bye!**


	13. Dramatic Animagi

Harry Potter was extremely tired. All he wanted was to go to the Great Hall, eat some delicious, hot food and then go back to sleep. It was a Saturday and he had finished all his homework. There was no Quidditch practice nor were there any impromptu meetings with Dumbledore. Harry had no detentions.

All he wanted was peace.

That was why he was so angry when the Slytherins walked into the Great Hall with furious faces – make that furious _gold_ faces. Their faces were painted gold, robes a bright Gryffindor red and hair… Gold and red striped afros.

James and Sirius did a sneaky high five and Harry glared at them. They winced.

Remus sighed next to Harry. "Really? Did you have to do this?"

"Of course!" Sirius said, as if offended. "They hexed Harry, so we prank them!"

Harry sighed and brought out his wand. The spells were not hard to reverse. The Slytherins just didn't think to use the easy way out. A _Finite Incantatem_ didn't work, but a counter-spell did.

With a wave of his wand, the Slytherins returned to their normal selves and the two boys that did it scowled.

Cheers erupted for Harry – mostly from girls actually. Ginny had once told him that he looked the best in third year – not too young and not too old. He was still shy in third year, which made him endearing. At least, that was what Ginny said.

Harry rubbed his temples as the cheering got louder. It didn't die down. Harry gritted his teeth, but the cheering did not stop.

He stood up. "Please!" he shouted. "I just want peace!"

The Great Hall went silent.

"Thank you!" he shouted exasperatedly before dropping back into his seat and rubbing his temples.

"You alright, Paws?" Sirius asked.

Harry knew how he looked. His skin was a pale, sickly colour and his dark circles probably scared everyone. His usual bright eyes became dull. "I'm just super tired," Harry sighed. "I don't get enough sleep with all the… things we do," Harry said.

James nodded. "Go back upstairs and sleep, Blackie," James said.

"Blackie?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, Sirius has Paws so I get Blackie," James defended.

"I get _cub_!" Remus added. _Cub_. Remus had called Harry that before… just not _this_ Remus.

James swore loudly and McGonagall glared at him from the Head Table. "Cub is so much better than Blackie. Can we trade?" James asked.

"Absolutely not," Remus smirked.

James huffed and stuffed some toast into his mouth. Harry got up. "No one disturb me," he said, rubbing his temples. "I'm going to go sleep."

Harry walked away then, many eyes following his retreating back.

…

The Marauders walked into Transfiguration with identical smirks on their faces. That could only mean one thing.

_Boom!_ An explosion went off. That was Sirius'. He had placed several Dungbombs around Filch's office. The moment Filch shut the door to his office, the Dungbombs would have been triggered. And then the door would automatically lock itself, making Filch unable to leave. He would be stuck in that stinky office, gasping for clean air until someone freed him.

_Splat!_ Screams sounded from the Charms corridor. That was James' prank. Slime and goo was currently falling on the third year Slytherins in their Charms class. James had made sure none of it had hit Professor Flitwick and the Hufflepuffs of course, but the Slytherins should have been covered with the green slime that James had set up over the Slytherin side of the class – the left side. James had carefully timed it so that when everyone had gotten into class, the slime would go off. How he loved magic.

_AAH!_ Remus tried not to laugh. The Transfiguration classroom was fairly far from the dungeons, but Remus could still hear Professor Slughorn scream "Where are my pineapples!?"

That was correct. Remus Lupin – the _saint_ of the Marauders had pranked Slughorn. The crystalized pineapples that Slughorn so loved and cherished had been stolen by Remus and replaced by Cockroach Clusters. Inside Remus' head, a timer was going off. _3…2…1._

_AAH!_ Slughorn screamed again. He _hated_ Cockroach Clusters. They would always pinch his fingers and crawl over his skin. That was exactly why Remus had a bucket load of those fall onto Slughorn. His beloved candy had been replaced by his most detested. Remus thought Slughorn deserved it though. He had treated many students unfairly in the past – worshipping some and ignoring others.

Then there was an unbelievable long calm. The Marauders' eyes were on Harry, who was silently smirking.

McGonagall, deciding that the pranks were over, began to start her lesson.

But then the door bursted open. There was Filch, in his stinky glory, a glazed look in his eyes. "Minerva!" Filch shouted. He sounded oddly coherent, but then he began to grunt and he dropped to his knees in front of the baffled Transfiguration professor. "I…" _Grunt._ "Love…_" Grunt._ "You!_" Grunt._

The class erupted into laughter as McGonagall turned red with anger. "Mr. Filch, please go to Professor Slughorn to retrieve the antidote for_ Amortentia._" _Smart McGonagall_, Harry thought. She was able to see straight through the love potion. But Filch did not leave, he simply grunted at McGonagall's feet, trying to grab her hands and kiss them.

"Lily Evans!" McGonagall shouted. Lily stood immediately. McGonagall transfigured Filch into a teacup then. "Take Mr. Filch to Professor Slughorn. I don't really trust anyone else. With another wave of her wand, the teacup became Filch again but before he could proclaim his undying love for McGonagall again, McGonagall shouted, "_Petrificus Totalus!"_

Mr. Filch froze. Sighing, McGonagall transfigured a pencil on her desk into a stretcher, which Lily began to roll out of the classroom to the dungeons, along with Filch, who was frozen atop it.

"Detention for you four!" McGonagall screeched to the Marauders.

"What?" Sirius shouted, standing up. "That is an outrage!"

"We didn't even do it!" James protested.

"We wouldn't prank Filch like that," Remus added.

"We wouldn't," Harry agreed. But Harry would. How he loved loopholes. "Innocent until proven guilty, Professor!"

And with a huff, McGonagall resumed her lesson as the boys exchanged high-fives underneath the table.

…

Hogwarts was a mess. The Marauders had gone on a pranking spree, pranking every person in the castle – even Gryffindors. The people who didn't anger them or were nice got away with nicer pranks like hair turning into electric blue. But the people who were mean and snotty… they got the brunt of it.

Dumbledore received complaints left and right, which he had all dismissed with a twinkle in his eyes. The boys never got in trouble thanks to Sirius' acting, James' adamant protesting, Remus' clean record and Harry's alibis. Harry was never at the scene of the crime either before, during or after the prank. Thanks to Disillusion charms and the cover ups the boys gave him. '_He was always in the dorm sleeping.' 'He was reading in the common room.' 'Harry had a bad stomach ache.' _Those were only some of the excuse the Marauders had come up with.

Those times were so blissfully innocent. Harry didn't have to think of Voldemort or of Horcruxes. He didn't dare touch the Daily Prophet and refused to hear about any deaths. He blocked it out – just for a little while. Just for a little while, he had the childhood he longed for.

It had been a while since he had destroyed that locket. April was already here. Harry took a bite of his toast as he listened to James moan about Lily and how amazing she was. They were dating now – Harry was extremely surprised. Lily had a study session with Snape though, and was in the library with Snape instead of the Great Hall, eating a late breakfast. It was Saturday, so Harry did not have to worry about classes.

"Isn't tonight the night?" Sirius asked Remus. "Your time of month?"

"I didn't know Remus had periods," Harry said nonchalantly, taking another bite of his toast. Remus smacked his head and Harry scowled.

"That's because I don't," Remus rolled his eyes.

"I already got some of it down," James whispered to them.

"Me too," Sirius said. "We're almost there."

Remus looked surprised. "Really? Already?"

"We're not stupid you know," Harry said, chuckling. "You have no idea how much we studied on our animals and meditated. That's why we have you take notes in class, so that we can research our animals more."

Remus scowled again. "Nice to know I'm being used," Remus scoffed.

"You're being used for a good cause," Sirius said, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. "We're doing this for you, Moony. Be grateful," Sirius grinned.

"I am but…"

"Great," James interrupted. "We're almost done with anyways. We should go practice some more back in the dorm and we might just be ready for tonight."

"_Tonight?_" Remus said incredulously. "No way! You don't even…"

"Oh shut up, Moony," Harry said, stuffing toast into his friend's mouth. "Don't dash our great efforts!"

The Marauders stood up, James, Sirius and Harry in deep discussion. Remus sighed as he listened to their conversation, feeling selfish because he was _happy_ that his friends were doing this for him.

…

They sat in the Room of Requirement. Harry had shown it to them recently and the boys enjoyed the room. They loved that the room brought them every need. When Sirius had asked for a girl though, the room had played a joke on him. They dressed Sirius in a dress and straightened his hair so that it hung below his shoulders.

"You make a very fit woman," James had laughed.

But they were not there for fun and games. They had to perfect their Animagi.

Harry felt his teeth and face elongate into fangs and a muzzle. Dark fur sprouted from his body. His human ears disappeared and in their place, the ears of a black panther. That was as far as he had gotten. Harry focused as hard as he could, aiming for the rest of the body. Harry felt fire in his veins as he fell onto all fours. His clothes had melted away and in their place, the body of the panther.

"Paws! You got it!" Sirius said, eyes wide.

Blackpaws was staring into the mirror. There he was, the great hunter. His extended fangs, his dark fur, his long tail and his sharp claws. His paws were lethal, and he definitely knew it.

"Harry?" James asked behind him. Harry turned around, looking at the fourteen year old boy in front of him with careful eyes. "Can you change back?"

Then Harry focused on James' face, the face that looked so much like his own. Harry focused on green eyes and white skin. He thought of his knobby knees and thin frame and imagined his school robes, back on his body.

But Harry was still the same panther and he stared hopelessly into the mirror.

Harry tried again and again, but he only got bits of his human body back. Finally – two hours later, actually – Harry, the thirty-two year old man in a thirteen year old body, sat on the floor.

He didn't pay attention to James or Sirius, who were trying for their transformations again.

This time, it was much easier for Harry to become the black panther, but it was still difficult to change back into his human form. The Marauders continued to work on it, as Remus silently watched them while doing his homework.

Harry changed back over and over again – until his fastest time was fifteen minutes and seven seconds. They ate in the Room, wanting to finish their transformations in time for Remus. But it was so difficult. The magic was taking a toll on James, Sirius and Harry and they collapsed into a tired heap.

"You okay?" Remus asked.

"Perfect," said Harry, though his voice was far from it.

"Glorious," Sirius said tiredly.

"Absolute wonderful," James said, using the same sleepy voice as Harry and Sirius.

"It's time for dinner," Remus said.

Harry sighed, standing. "We have to practice more then."

"What?" Remus asked, bewildered. "You're dead tired!"

"But the full moon is tonight," Sirius argued, though his voice lacked it's usual conviction.

"No," Remus shook his head.

"He's right," James said. "We should rest for the night."

And James collapsed back onto the floor, eyes closed and already snoring. Sirius shook his head.

"How he is my best friend is beyond me," Sirius said, but then he lied down as well, assuming the fetal position.

But Harry did not listen. He shifted into his panther form and struggled to shift back again. Remus sighed.

Remus crouched down to Harry's level, who tried to switch back. "Cub," Remus said, assuming a rather fatherly voice. "You can't over exert yourself," Remus said. "Let's just go eat dinner and we can try again tomorrow."

_Cub._ Remus sounded so much like the Remus Harry knew in the future.

Harry stared at the boy in front of him and slowly, but surely, Harry transformed back into a human – without a hitch.

"Did you just…" Remus stared.

"I think I just…" Harry said, eyes wide.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.

Harry transformed back into his panther, the now familiar fire running through his veins. Focusing on his human form, he felt his teeth retract and muzzle disappear. His tail, fur, ears – every _panther_ part of himself melted away, revealing the thirteen year old Harry underneath.

He did it.

…

And he was completely exhausted. All of them were. The Marauders fell asleep at the Great Hall, heads slumping over into their mashed potatoes. Remus had refused to let them go and for once, the boys didn't protest. They were too tired to spend a night with a werewolf.

"Harry? James? Sirius?" came a voice.

Harry looked up, mashed potato falling from his forehead. Concerned green eyes stared at Harry and Harry rubbed his eyes twice.

"Jamie… your girlfriend," Harry said, shaking his brother's arm. Lily wiped away the food from Harry and James' face, and struggled to get Sirius up.

"Hey Lily-flower," Sirius said. Lily sat down next to James then.

"What were you all doing?" Lily asked. "Why are you so tired?"

"We were practicing magic," Harry said. "Took a lot out of us." Sirius shot a questioning look at Harry. _Half-truths_, Harry mouthed to Sirius. Luckily, Lily was too focused on James, who had rested his head in the crook of her neck, eyes shut.

"James," Lily said. James did not move. "James," Lily said.

"I'm comfortable here," James sighed. "And you smell nice."

Lily turned pink.

"I still don't understand why you decided to date him," came another voice. Severus Snape walked to them, robes flying behind him. Harry couldn't help but think that he looked like an overgrown bat.

"Come on, Sev," Lily said. "James is nice."

Snape only scowled.

"We should go back," Sirius said. Everyone else had already left the Great Hall, a few teachers, who were chatting at the Head Table.

"Lily, you shouldn't date people like him," Snape insisted. James was now wide awake, hovering protectively in front of his girlfriend.

"You can't dictate what she does," James said coldly. Lily bit her lip, struggling to choose which side to take.

"Lily, let's go," Snape sneered. "Don't associate yourself with people like them. They are immature and arrogant. You know that."

"Sev, don't do this," Lily shook her head. "People can change!"

"Enough," Harry said, standing. "Lily, can I speak to you for a second?"

Lily stood, glancing at Snape and James, unsure if she should leave them alone. "Sirius please," Harry said, looking over to him. Sirius nodded. "There are teachers, Lily. Don't worry," Harry said and he led her to entrance of the Great Hall, out of earshot from the others.

"Yes, Harry?" Lily asked, taking glances at the other boys.

"You like my brother, don't you?" Harry asked bluntly.

Lily shyly nodded. "That's why I'm dating him."

"Well I know that he's probably in love with you," Harry said. Lily's cheeks turned red. "And I know that Severus is as well."

Lily froze. "What? That's not even possible!" Lily said, whispering furiously to Harry. Harry continued in his normal speaking voice, unabashed.

"It's true. You know it is. Why else would he be jealous of James? Don't choose between your best friend and your boyfriend if you aren't ready for it yet. Stay with both of them and observe. Who's the one that is willing to make the sacrifice of being friends with the other for you? Don't be indecisive or just pick Severus because you've known him the longest. Don't _ever_ hurt my brother," Harry said, voice stern. "Who is the better one for you, Lily? Who makes you feel… _more_?" Harry asked, thinking back to Ginny. "Who makes your heart pound… who makes you jealous when you see them conversing with the opposite gender…" Harry shook her head. "That is the person you should date. If you want to remain friends with either of them, just tell them. But if they hold a grudge against you because you didn't date them… then they aren't worthy of even being your friend."

Harry left Lily mulling over his words and he returned back to the two Marauders and Snape. Snape was glaring at James coldly and James was pointedly ignoring him. Harry sat down next to James, eating some treacle tarts.

Lily came back then, sitting next to James and lacing her fingers with his. James' face lit up immediately, his face softening at the sight of her.

"Whipped," Sirius sang, ruining the moment. Harry chuckled.

But Snape's face was turning an ugly shade of red. "Lily!" Snape protested. "I _told _you that you shouldn't be associating with this… this… riff raff!"

"Riff raff?" Sirius asked, shooting a questioning glance at Harry.

"I don't even know," Harry shrugged and he placed a finger on his lips, asking silently for Sirius to stay quiet. Harry moved so that he was next to Sirius, watching the battle between Lily and Snape.

"Sev, he's my boyfriend," Lily insisted. Harry felt oddly out of place. He did not belong in that time zone, he wasn't fourteen like the rest of them and he still felt like he was in his thirties.

Snape sneered. "Him? Lily, you can do so much better." Their voices were getting steadily louder.

James looked like he was about to protest, but Harry casted a silent _silencio_. James glared at Harry, but Harry shook his head.

"Sev, stop," Lily said sternly. "I can choose for myself who to date!"

"Yeah, of course," Sev said sarcastically, fists clenched tightly. "You choose the wrong choice, like all Mudbloods do!"

And Harry stood up, rage in his features. Sirius began cussing at Snape and there was no teachers in the Great Hall left to berate him. Harry released his silencing charm on James.

"No one touch him," Harry growled at Sirius and James, who were reaching for their wands.

Lily was frozen. Regret was already flashing over Snape's face.

"Wait… Lily," Snape said, reaching for her, but Lily moved out of reach. Tears were glistening in her eyes.

"Let's go," Lily said coldly and James led her out of the Great Hall, wrapping his arm around Lily's and kissing her temple. James whispered reassuring words to his girlfriend as they left, leaving Sirius and Harry alone with Snape.

"Go first," Harry said, gesturing to the exit. Sirius nodded stiffly, glaring at Snape before following his best friend.

Snape sat down then, eyes wide. He buried his head in his hands. Harry awkwardly patted Snape's shoulder but Snape jerked away. He looked back up at Harry, glaring at him. "Stay away from me, blood traitor!"

"I'm not the one you're angry at," Harry said, trying to soothe the rage inside himself. As much as he wanted to slap Snape, he didn't. Again, this happened way too early. James and Lily didn't start dating until seventh year and Snape and Lily's friendship didn't break until fifth.

"She was already slightly mad at me," Snape said miserably.

"Because of your jealousy and because you hung out with Death Eaters, right?" Harry asked, no judgement in his tone. "Avery? Mulciber? You hung out with Lucius Malfoy before as well."

Snape shot another glare at Harry.

"You don't have to become a Death Eater," Harry said gently. "Your knowledge of the Dark Arts can be used for good."

"It's too late now," Snape said bitterly. "Lily is gone."

"You can always get her back," Harry said firmly. "Perhaps not as your girlfriend, but as a friend. Change your ways, Severus. There's always a second chance for those who try hard enough."

And Harry walked away, leaving Snape alone with his demons. He sighed. It was hard to go one day without drama in his life.

And that completely _sucked._

**So. Yeah. Gonna fly through third year and summer in next chapter! Into fourth! Then fly through fourth and into FIFTH AND THAT'S WHERE THE DRAMA HAPPENS! WOOOOOOT.**

**Prepare you all. And for those who are longing for some HarryxGinny... well Ginny's not going to come back. Sorry. But Harry WILL end up with her.. just in the future.**

**Kays. Well. There. **


	14. Just Perhaps

Summer arrived soon enough and the Marauders were able to spend two nights with Moony in the Forbidden Forest. At first, the other Marauders were nervous about it, but after an hour on the first night, they were off on adventures in the forest.

Harry still remembered those two nights. The moon shone through the trees, casting a silvery glow over the forest. Though it was dark, his eyes easily adjusted and Harry and James – or Blackpaws and Prongs – led Moony through the forest while Padfoot took the rear, occasionally jumping on Moony and wrestling with the werewolf for fun.

The sense of freedom as they ran through the forest was exhilarating. The wind blew against them, the branches and twigs snapped under Blackpaws' strong feet and they were having the time of their lives.

Remus didn't remember much of it, which was unfortunate, but Harry knew it was going to happen. He couldn't wait until the Wolfsbane potion was invented and then Remus would have that taste of freedom as well.

Prongs, Padfoot and Blackpaws were Moony's new pack mates. And Moony, along with the rest of them, was content. The scars on Remus' body had decreased drastically and the fourteen year old Remus was happy as well.

So now the four boys – three fourteen and one thirteen – sat in their reserved Marauders compartment, silently watching the fields go by. Lily and James were still going strong and were sickeningly sweet together. Harry and Sirius had mocked them on more than one occasion. Lily was not with them but instead with her own roommates. It was _'man bonding time'_ as Sirius called it.

When Harry was thirteen or fourteen – the first time – he hated being called a child. He thought he had been mature enough and strong enough but looking back on it, he saw how stupid he had been. So '_man bonding time_' was really '_boy bonding time,'_ and this time, Harry didn't mind it. He had missed his childhood when he was older and wished that his teenage years hadn't been spent worrying over Voldemort.

So this was his second chance.

"Checkmate! I win!" Harry yelled. He almost squealed with delight but – _ah hem_. Males do not squeal, though James had before – over Lily of course.

James scowled. "You won _one_ game of chess and people would think that Voldemort is gone."

Harry didn't listen though. He was too busy happy dancing. After all those years, he finally won a chess game.

Admittedly, it was a very close win. Another move and James would have won. But still, Harry won.

"You, James Potter," Harry said, pointing a finger at his twin. "Just got bested by Harry James Potter!"

"How did you lose, Prongs?" Sirius scoffed.

Remus sighed, shaking his head. "Even I'm disappointed."

"Hey!" James and Harry shouted.

"It was a lucky win," James protested.

"And I'm not that bad!" Harry argued, but Remus and Sirius continued to sigh.

The twins shared a look and then they smacked the heads of Remus and Sirius.

"So we did it," Sirius said as they settled back into their seats. Sirius was still in awe because they could transform into animals. To be honest, Harry was too. "At fourteen."

"We did," Harry nodded.

"Did what?" came the voice of Lily Evans, who had opened the compartment door.

The Marauders scrambled for a reply, all of them coming up with different answers. Remus came up with: "We got O's in our Transfiguration exam!" That was the most realistic one.

"We did surgery on Remus' rabbit," Harry blurted out. When he said it, he immediately regretted it. _Did surgery on a rabbit?_ Harry berated himself inside his own head. But his was not as bad as James'.

"We got McGonagall to profess her love for Sirius!" he said. Then he clamped a hand over his own mouth, hazel eyes wide. At least it was better than Sirius'.

"We got a picture of Snape snogging Slughorn!" Sirius said.

The Marauders' glared at Sirius, making him sink into his seat. Lily blinked. It was obvious that they were lying to her.

"Tell me the truth," Lily demanded. Harry sighed. His mother… or friend… or future sister-in-law (now that was creepy) was too nosy for her own good.

"It's nothing," Harry said, biting his lip. Lily narrowed her eyes and Harry sighed.

"The truth is," Harry began and the other Marauders shot him a look. Harry had watched Tom Riddle lie to Slughorn. The key was to be casual, slightly hesitant and subtle compliments. "I'm only telling you this because I know that you can figure it out on your own…" Harry said, he paused for a bit, watching Lily blush slightly before counting to three seconds in his head and Harry looked down at his lap. "We gave some weak love potion to Slughorn and he… uh… kind of really likes McGonagall right now."

His friends shot him an impressed look. Harry looked as earnest as he could and Lily believed it immediately. "How could you?" Lily demanded. "They are your professors!"

"Sorry, Lily," they chorused.

With a nod, Lily sat down next to James. As the two talked, Harry exchanged sneaky high fives to James, Sirius and Remus and they all smirked as the train chugged back to London.

…

"I don't trust the boy," Moody said immediately. "He's suspicious, too powerful for his own good – he might be chugging down Polyjuice potion!" Moody said, slamming his hands down on the table. His magical eye watched each person at the table carefully. His wooden leg kept making clunking sounds on the floor as he moved. Otherwise, Alastor Moody was whole.

"He's not a Death Eater," McGonagall sighed.

"Still," Moody insisted. He knew that the boy wasn't a Death Eater. His magical eye could see the blasted marks though some people could hide it so well that it was difficult for even _Alastor Moody_ to see it.

"He's not a Death Eater, nor is he someone we can't trust," Dumbledore said calmly. "In fact, he got us closer to defeating Voldemort than we ever have been."

Moody crossed his arms, still unconvinced.

"I must go," Dumbledore said, standing. He nodded to the other Order members. "I will tell you when the next meeting is," Dumbledore said. He walked to the fireplace, taking some Floo powder next to it. "Hogwarts!" Dumbledore barked and with a flash of green flame, Dumbledore was back in his office. He stepped out of the fireplace, casting a silent cleaning charm on himself as he walked to his desk.

Harry Potter – something that even Dumbledore had not foreseen. But it made everything so much easier. Tom had made Horcruxes and though Dumbledore still saw a bit of his old, handsome student… Tom Riddle had already gone astray when he stepped into Hogwarts. A small sliver of hope had been wedged in Dumbledore's heart, but when he heard of _Horcruxes…_ Those infernal things… that held parts of a broken and damaged soul… The murder… the consequences…

That hope Dumbledore held for Tom Riddle was almost extinguished. But remorse and regret could still lead Tom into the right path. Dumbledore sighed. It was as likely as Mundungus Fletcher being the next Minister of Magic.

The diadem was finished. As was the locket and the diary. All they were missing was Hufflepuff's cup and the Gaunt ring. Harry had said it was in the Gaunt shack, near the place where Riddle Manor was, but Harry had forbid Dumbledore to go alone. He had told Dumbledore of how the pull of the ring made you wear it and there was a curse to go with it. And that had been the cause of Dumbledore's death in the future.

How were they suppose to get into the Lestrange's Gringotts vault though? Rodolphus Lestrange was out of Dumbledore's reach. At times like these, Dumbledore wished the security on vaults weren't so strict.

He sighed, leaning back on his chair. There was a whole summer before Harry came back and their search for Horcruxes began again.

"Oh, Tom," Dumbledore sighed. _How could you have gone so far astray?_

...

"On the count of three," James said, eying the front door of the manor. He stared at the back of it, waiting for his parents to come home. But not alone. Lily Evans was coming and James could not have been more excited. "One…" James said, probably wishing for them to hurry. "Two…" He bit his lip. "Three!" he yelled, making a big show with hands, but the door didn't open.

It stayed shut and no one walked through it.

Sirius howled with laughter. Remus sifted through the Daily Prophet. "They're coming in… three… two… one…" he said nonchalantly and after he finished counting down, the door opened, revealing the bright faces of Lily and James' parents.

"How did you…" James started, but Harry narrowed his eyes. James immediately got it.

"When you chase rabbits, you have to hear very well," Remus shrugged. Harry snickered.

"It sounds like you eat rabbits," Harry whispered to Remus.

"Who knows," Remus said, smiling as well. "Maybe I do."

It was rare to see Remus so light-hearted about his lycanthropy and Harry was glad. He wasn't as happy as James though, who's face had broken out into a grin so wide it looked like it hurt. James swept Lily up into a large hug, swinging her around. His parents chuckled before leaving, heading towards the kitchen. James had filed out over the summer. He had grown much taller, though he wasn't as tall as Sirius yet. He was not as bony and he definitely looked more handsome.

Obviously, Lily had noticed too, for she was still blushing when she was released from their hug.

Sirius flopped onto the couch next to Harry, who was next to Remus. Since Lily was there, they were going to be ignored. They were used to it, though Sirius was most unhappy.

"I love them, but they get on my nerves," Sirius sighed. "I wish Prongs wouldn't forget us whenever Lily is there."

Harry shrugged. "They'll grow out of it. They're immature fourteen year olds right now."

Sirius sighed again. "Wanna play Quiddich?" he asked.

To be honest, Harry didn't want to. He hadn't finished reading the school list of books (not that he needed to) and though he had finished his homework, he wanted to think of more ideas of how to retrieve the remaining Horcruxes. School started in a week – which meant the Horcrux hunt would begin again.

But looking at the hopeful face of Sirius Black, Harry found himself saying yes. "Come on Remus," Harry said, stealing Remus' book away from him. Remus scowled, glaring at Harry. "You have to practice your announcing skills!" Harry said, pulling Remus up. The three boys walked outside, holding their brooms. Harry's was cleverly disguised as the broom James had given him.

They didn't have hoops to practice with, but since Harry was a Seeker and Sirius a Beater, they had no need for it. Remus was up there as well, awkwardly dodging the Bludgers Sirius sent at him. There was only one Bludger and there was one Snitch. Sirius laughed as Remus tried to dodge the Bludger again, jerking his broom to the left. Remus was a fair flyer, but once there were balls in action, he would freeze up.

Sirius whacked the Bludger to Harry, but Harry dodged it, hand outstretched to the small, Golden Snitch.

But the Bludger came back and just before Harry could snatch up the snitch, the Bludger came zooming towards Harry's hand, making Harry almost fall off his broom in his haste to dodge it.

Sirius laughed at Harry, pointing at Harry's fumble. "Shut up, Padfoot!" Harry hollered.

The three boys didn't notice the wistful look on James' face as James and Lily watched them play.

"You can go up there, you know," Lily said, nudging James lightly. A hopeful look passed James face, but he shook his head.

"I wouldn't leave you down here," James said.

Lily looked touched and from where Harry was flying, he could see a slight blush on her face.

"Wait!" James shouted. Everyone froze, including Sirius, who almost got hit by the Bludger. "I have an idea!"

James dashed back inside, disappearing behind the door. Remus and Harry shared knowing looks as Sirius fended off the Bludger again.

Then James came back out, red-faced and panting. His broom was clutched in his hand. "Lily, let's go!" he shouted, getting onto his broom. "We're going for a ride."

Harry raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a bad idea. He would have his girlfriend's arms around his waist, he would be spending time with his girlfriend _and _his friends – and most of all, he would be having a lot more fun than sitting there and talking about Merlin-knows-what with Lily.

James swung his leg over his broom, flying towards Lily.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no," Lily said, shaking her head, but Harry and Sirius had neared them already. Sirius and Harry got off their brooms and lifted a flailing Lily to James' broom. Once Lily got on, James soared into the sky, forcing Lily to wrap her arms around James and bury her head in his shoulder blade.

With a hoot of laughter, everyone got back on their brooms as they flew. They put away the balls, simply flying. Harry did several loop-de-loops to let off his feelings. Then James turned around and kissed Lily.

Was it their first official kiss? According to Lily's blush – it was.

Sirius and Harry hooted loudly, ruining the sweet moment. But James was grinning like a madman and Lily held on to James again – perhaps a little bit tighter than before.

These were the moments Harry lived for .The carefree ones that could power a Patronus. Those made everything worthwhile. Though Ginny and his family, those people that he left behind, would always be on his mind, he had James, Sirius, Remus and Lily – the people that he had then.

Perhaps everything would be okay.

Perhaps.

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE THAT NONE OF YOU SHOULD MISS BECAUSE IF YOU DO, THEN I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR... well whatever.**

**I'm going to Europe. There's no Internet. DUN. DUN. DUN. DUUUN. Know what that means?! **

**No updates -_-**

**Once I get internet back again, I'll try to update. So you might not get an update until August. If I'm lucky, I can get a chapter up in three days... but usually, I'm not. So... I'm sorry if you'll have to wait a month.**

**That's why I didn't end this chapter on a cliffhanger. That would be way too mean. While I'm at Europe, I'll continue to write chapters so when I have my internet back, I'll BOMBARDA MAXIMA you with chapters! **

**Sorry!**

**Until next time!**


	15. Separation

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, half-heartedly clapping as the first years got sorted. He, along with Remus and Sirius, were extremely bored. Nothing interesting had happened in the last week, except for Lily coming over to visit. James was the only one having a good time, laughing with Lily as they discussed something that Harry did _not_ want to know about.

When they were finally dismissed to their respective common rooms, Harry stopped Remus and Sirius from leaving. They were going to go exploring. The map was finally going to be used. They had finished it and it was gloriously beautiful. But instead of Wormtail, a taint on their genius, it was Blackpaws.

They didn't have the Invisibility Cloak, but it was alright. James and Lily had already left, leaving the other Marauders to begin… Marauding.

"Slytherin common room?" Sirius asked, once they were out of earshot from the others.

"Later," Remus said. "They're all probably in there right now."

"Filch?" Harry suggested. Sirius' grin became wide and Remus was trying to keep a smile off his face.

"Let's go," Sirius said.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Harry said to the map and spirals of ink became visible on the map.

_Moony, Blackpaws, Padfoot and Prongs is proud to present:_

_ The Marauder's Map._

_…_

When they finally got back to the common room, they were all doubled over in laughter. By some miracle, they didn't get caught by Filch.

But James and Lily were waiting for them, hands on their hips with a serious expression on their faces.

"Harry James Potter," James said. Harry winced. The _full name_.

"Do you know how worried we were?" Lily demanded. Sirius shuffled his feet. The _guilt trip._

"Perhaps I expected this from Sirius and Harry, but Remus? You too?" James said. Remus sighed. And the last – the _expectations._

"We always do this, James," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes. James looked angry, even more than Lily. Lily sighed and went back upstairs, leaving James alone with the other Marauders.

"I can't believe you!" James whispered furiously, in fear of the other students in the common room hearing. Harry casted a silent _Muffliato _and thanked Snape inside his head. He winced. He was thanking _Severus Snape?_ Well miracles do happen.

"What can't you believe?" Sirius asked, with equal fury in his eyes.

"That you went without me! What happened to Marauders forever?" James asked, accusations in his eyes. _Marauders forever_. That was a little too cheesy for Harry, but it worked. He wisely chose to keep that inside his head.

"Yeah!" Sirius said, voice loud now, throwing his hands in the air exasperatedly. "What happened to that? Oh yeah! A girl! Now that Lily is dating you, you don't spend time with us at all!" Sirius said.

James' eyes widened. Remus and Harry continued to stay silent, watching the battle between the two best friends. "That is not her fault!"

"I'm not saying it is!" Sirius replied.

"It's not mine either!" James said, crossing his arms.

Sirius scoffed. "Yeah sure. So it's no one's fault. I'm completely fine with that. So you were busy with Lily, so we went ahead," Sirius said.

"You could have _told_ me!" James said.

"I would have!" Sirius said, anger showing evidently on his face. "But you were off with Lily! And I couldn't walk up to you with your girlfriend clinging to your side and say, 'Hey Prongs. Let's go pull pranks on Filch.'"

"Lily does not cling!" James said hotly.

Sirius scoffed once again in disbelief. "Whatever. What do you even want me to say? Apologize to you because we didn't invite you to a prank when you _obviously_ were busy with something else?"

James narrowed his eyes at Sirius' mocking tones. "Yes, I want you to apologize."

"That's rich!" Sirius laughed coldly. The laughter ceased as Sirius glared at his best friend. "I'm sorry that you think that this is all our fault. That you are completely delusional. That you spend more time with you girlfriend now, than your best friends, who has been with you for three years."

Sirius pushed his way to the stairs, angrily walking up to their room.

James looked at Remus and Harry, eyes wide. Remus sighed and left as well, following Sirius back up the stairs.

Harry shut his eyes tightly, questioning himself. _Stay or go?_

"Is it true?" James asked. With a short nod, Harry walked back upstairs, back stiff and face in a grimace, leaving James behind to stare at the fire alone.

…

It was one of the biggest rows James and Sirius ever had. Remus and Harry stuck together, refusing to pick a side. James refused to sacrifice his pride, though he had done it for Lily – which Sirius had bitterly pointed out. Sirius was harsh with his words though, making James reluctant to apologize.

James had cut back on his Lily time, and she had said that was completely fine (which meant that she was slightly angry). James spent more time with Harry and Remus, though when Sirius was there, that meant he would flock to Lily.

Remus and Harry both thought he was being stupid and while Remus tried to play peacemaker, Harry was busy with his meetings with Dumbledore. He also spent some time with Lily, trying to convince her to spend more time with Snape. But Lily was stubborn and did not see reason. She didn't see that her friendship with Snape was an anchor for him. Honestly, Harry wanted to curse both Lily and James.

Harry slumped in the chair opposite of Dumbledore as the old wizard looked at Harry with amused blue eyes.

"Go ahead," Harry said. "Just laugh."

Dumbledore chuckled then. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"Was I this stupid when I was fourteen?" Harry asked himself. "Oh yeah… Big fight with Ron," Harry said sheepishly.

"Ron Weasley, correct?" Dumbledore clarified. Harry nodded. "Fourth year… Wasn't that the Triwizard cup?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded again. "When that comes in the future, don't just put an Age Line. Put a guard there and check the parchment. Bartemius Crouch Jr. had put my name in, disguised as Moody."

"So Harry," Dumbledore said. "Gaunt ring?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "In the Gaunt shack. Little Hangleton… I believe. No matter what," Harry said gravely. "Do _not_ put on the ring."

Dumbledore raised a bushy, white eyebrow but Harry did not elaborate. He did not fully understand why Dumbledore had put on the ring. If he had told Harry why, Harry had forgotten.

"Is there any way to be resistant to any type of enchantments?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore looked at Harry thoughtfully. "Well…" Dumbledore began.

But then Minerva McGonagall bursted through the door, her witch's hat slanted and strict bun a mess. "James Potter… Sirius Black… in a fight," McGonagall managed to get out, before rushing back out. Harry cussed loudly and then realized his Headmaster was right in front of him.

"I had recently turned deaf," Dumbledore said before standing and swiftly exiting his office. Harry was quick to follow.

When Harry arrived, James and Sirius seemed to be subdued. Remus was standing between them, extremely wary.

"I cannot believe you two," McGonagall berated. "Ten points from my own house! Each!" she screeched. Then she seemed to notice Remus was there. "Mr. Lupin, you earn five points for separating them."

Remus nodded.

"To my office please," Dumbledore said. "All four of you."

Harry raised an eyebrow. James and Sirius refused to look at each other on the way there.

"Our friends are _gits_," Remus whispered to Harry.

Harry sighed. "Too true. Too bloody true."

Dumbledore opened the door to his office, letting the boys in, but once the four Marauders were in the room, Dumbledore closed the door, leaving them alone inside.

Harry stared at the closed door, already knowing it was locked. Sirius cursed and ran to the door, banging it with his fists. "Let us out!" he howled.

"Work things out. Talk. Discuss your feelings," Dumbledore chuckled from the other side. "Even if you think that's what girls do."

"That is what girls do!" James and Sirius scoffed. They eyed each other warily before sitting on opposite sides of the room.

Harry sighed, sharing a look with Remus. Remus nodded slightly and Harry took out his wand. It was a silent spell, one Harry had created himself. It would handcuff two hands together and it was usually made for the people that Harry had to lock up when he had been an Auror.

But now it was used for two fourteen year olds, that were too grumpy and prideful. What a shame.

"Harry James Potter!" James bellowed as he glanced at the titanium chain that bound him to Sirius.

"Enough with the full name!" Harry said, covering his ears. Sirius was silent, turning away from James snootily. The silent treatment. Harry sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Silent treatments meant that you thought the other person wasn't important enough to talk to.

And with James' offended look, he obviously got the message.

"Let us go," James said, glaring at his twin.

"Work it out then," Harry said. "Quickly because I have a potions essay!"

Remus, being the most diplomatic, spoke. "James, why aren't you friends with Sirius again?"

"Because he's being a _git_ and he won't apologize to me," James said. Sirius looked like he was about to protest, but Harry casted a _silencio_ on him, rendering him silent. Harry refused to look into his glaring gray eyes.

"Why does he need to apologize to you?" Remus asked.

"Because he said all those bad things about Lily," James huffed.

"Then shouldn't he be apologizing to Lily?" Remus said smoothly.

James seemed to realize the logic in it and tried again. "He said harsh things to me too!" he complained.

"Now Sirius. Why are you mad at James?" Remus asked. Harry undid his silencing charm and placed on James, who's been under it so much that he did not make a big fuss about it.

"Because he was angry at us when he was the one at fault," Sirius said coolly, with all the grace of a Black pureblood. His emotions were hidden and he crossed his arms, staring at Remus and refusing to look at James. "He spent all his time with Lily, and he was with Lily when we decided to prank Filch. So we went without him. But he blew up at us when it was his fault. So I think my actions are justified."

Harry released the charm on James. Sirius had the much better argument and James seemed to realize it.

"I'm sorry," James sighed then. "It's just… I've been crushing on her for so long and…"

"I know," Sirius relented. "I'm sorry too."

Then they 'man-hugged,' because _hugs_ were just too girly. Remus rolled his eyes. "Freaking teenage drama," Remus said.

Harry exhaled loudly. "I know right."

…

Harry slipped into the common room at two in the morning, coming from a meeting with Dumbledore. The next meeting with the Headmaster would also be with the Order of the Phoenix members, and Harry was excited. And slightly dreading it.

They would wonder how he had gotten so much information and he wouldn't be able to tell them everything. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were in the Order. That made it so much worse.

But with the Order, lots of things could be done. Deaths could be prevented.

"Where have you been?" James demanded. Harry's train of thought froze.

"Out. Kitchens," Harry shrugged.

"We were just there," Remus said, narrowing his eyes. Harry swore inside his head.

"I've just been out," Harry said, walking towards the stairs, but Sirius blocked his way.

"Sit," he said, nodding towards the couch. Sighing, Harry sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace, watching the three boys stand in front of him with their arms crossed.

"Where have you been?" James asked again.

"Does it really matter?" Harry asked and he stood up, but Remus made him sit back down.

"Just tell us," Sirius insisted.

"With Dumbledore," Harry said. "Private lessons."

"For what?" Remus asked.

"Transfiguration," Harry said on the spot. "He _was_ a Transfiguration professor before."

"Then shouldn't McGonagall be teaching you?" James said.

"She was busy," Harry evaded.

"My canine senses are tingling," Sirius said. Harry laughed. "You're lying though."

"Just tell us what you've been doing!" James said exasperatedly.

"You don't need to know!" Harry evaded. "It's between me and Dumbledore. Go ask him. Don't interrogate me."

Harry stood and pushed back his friends before walking upstairs. James and Sirius had _just_ reconciled. But now Harry was starting to float away from their tight-knit group. Harry sighed. _It was for the best. It was for the best._ Those words echoed inside Harry's head until he fell asleep, wishing that he could let someone else do all the work.

**I. FOUND. INTERNET. IN. MY. HOTEL.**

**Well, I didn't find it, but luckily, my mother booked a hotel WITH WIFI!**

**THAT'S FREE!**

**WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE REVIEWS, GUYS?!**

**And for those of you who did review, THANKS so MUCH for taking a minute out of your life for me :) **

**Imagine... if all my followers and favouriters (I know that's not a word) reviewed once... **


	16. Ring in the Floor

James, Sirius and Remus were all watching Harry very carefully. Harry stifled laughter on several occasions when he found them trailing after him – trying to be spy-like.

The key word was: _trying._

They were not discreet and most of all, not quiet. James and Sirius continued to bicker and while Remus told them to be quiet, his voice was even louder than theirs.

Harry went out even more often, though he didn't meet Dumbledore on most of them. On the nights he did meet Dumbledore though, it was easy to evade the boys that trailed him. He had a good laugh. On other days, he purposely watched the boys make a fool of themselves. They used the Invisibility Cloak – a clear advantage – but still, their noise made them easy to spot.

Today was one of those nights.

Harry quietly slipped out of the common room, looking behind him to seem more suspicious. The Fat Lady scowled as he exited. "Why are you _always_ out so late?" she complained. Harry shot the portrait an apologetic look, but turned back around, quietly tip-toeing down the corridor.

"Sirius, you just stepped on my toe you idiot!" James complained.

"Well your freaking pointy elbow is in my ribcage and you don't see me complaining," Sirius retorted.

"Will you both shut up!? He's going to hear you!" Remus whispered furiously, though his 'whisper' was rather loud.

Harry clamped a hand over his mouth, refusing to laugh.

Harry turned sharply then, switching his paths.

"Stop! Prongs! He went that way!" Sirius said. Harry grinned as he made his way through the castle, heading for the secret passage way that looped around. It was the perfect place for what he was going to do.

Sprinting, he dashed down the stone corridor, opening the portrait entrance and hiding inside it. The passageway was cramped and Harry had to duck down. "Ow!" he cursed. He hit his head on the stone. Rubbing the sore spot, he continued his way to the exit.

"Where'd he go?" came the voice of Remus. Harry popped out of the other exit, screaming bloody murder.

"AAH!" Harry shouted, not caring he had waken several portraits that were cursing and grumbling at him. He knew Filch was probably looking for him now, but he couldn't find the heart to care.

Remus, Sirius and James were sprawled on the ground, faces horrified. The cloak had fallen off them, lying next to them in a silvery pile.

Harry though, was doubled over with laughter, pointing at them with watering eyes. "Oh," Harry laughed, slapping his knees. His friends were staring up at him with wide eyes. Then the sound of Filch coming came, though that didn't stop Harry's grin. Harry quickly snatched up James' Invisibility Cloak.

He stood, invisible, as Filch came, eyes narrowed to slits at the sight of James, Sirius and Remus. James and Sirius already being notorious troublemakers didn't help the whole situation. Filch's nostrils flared. He wasn't as old as when Harry met him, but still, his skin was wrinkled and dirty, his hair matted and gray. For a custodian, he was _very_ unclean.

"You!" Filch shouted, pointing a crooked finger at the boys. "Come with me!"

James bit his lip, looking at the place Harry stood invisibly. If he ratted Harry out, then he would risk his cloak being confiscated.

By then, Filch had already grabbed their ears. "OW!" they shrieked. Harry bit his lip to quench his laughter as Filch led the boys away.

…

When the three of them finally came back to their room, Harry was calmly reading on his bed, eyes peering behind his book at the three defeated boys. "Where have you been?" Harry asked, as if he hadn't been out with them as well.

James scowled.

"How did you know we were there?" Sirius asked. "We were under the cloak," Sirius said, gesturing to the silvery article of clothing at the end of James' bed.

"I know," Harry shrugged. "The cloak makes you invisible, but I could still hear you. _Very_ clearly. All the nights," Harry didn't see the point to tell them it was _most_ not _all_, "That I've been out, I've been laughing my head off, listening to your conversations."

"I _told _you that you were too loud," Remus sighed.

"Actually, _you_ were the loudest, Moony," Harry said, shooting them a cheeky grin.

Remus looked taken aback as James and Sirius shot him goofy grins. "Soon, I'm going to teach you Stealth – Auror style," Harry grinned. "I learned... some tricks from Dumbledore. That man is big, but he's quiet."

"Big but quiet," James grinned.

"I don't even understand how that's funny, but alright," Remus said, dropping into his bed with a sigh.

"I think Prongs is just drunk," Sirius announced, lying down on his own bed.

"I don't drink alcohol," James scowled.

"Sure," the other boys chorused dryly.

"I don't!" James protested, but the three boys had already shut their eyes, mocking loud snores.

…

Dumbledore Apparated them to Little Hangleton, and they found the Gaunt shack very easily. Out of the cookie-cutter houses of the small town, a dirty, rundown shack was fairly easy to find. The shack's roof had several holes in it. The wooden house was covered with scratchy wood and Harry was extremely careful. If there was one thing Harry hated, it was _splinters._ They were so annoying to get out.

Harry went in first, wand out and eyes wary. He had insisted. Dumbledore was more important than he was currently – which Harry was incredibly grateful for. Being the center of attention got… not boring, but _irritating._

Maybe he sounded ungrateful, but he never asked to be famous.

Harry pushed open the door with his wand, burning a small hole in the already worn wood. With a creak, the door fell open, revealing a tiny shack. A table, probably big enough for only two people – three if you squish – was in the center of the room. A candle sat in the middle of the table, though it was not lit. Dust covered the entire shack and Harry refrained from sneezing as well as he could.

Dumbledore came in behind him and Harry took another tentative step inside the shack.

Then it hit him.

The temptation. The want. _The need._ The resurrection stone had been in the ring. And Dumbledore had foolishly believed that he could return his family back to life. Harry unsheathed the sword of Gryffindor, holding it in his left hand.

"Can you step out, Professor?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Alright," Dumbledore conceded, and he exited the shack. Harry could feel the dark magic emanating from the…

"Floorboards," Harry murmured. He began wrenching the wood from the floor, looking carefully for a ring. He put the sword back on his belt and lit his wand.

"Ow!" Harry yelped. He cursed loudly. Embedded in his palm were _splinters._

"You okay, Harry?" came Dumbledore's voice from the outside.

"I_ hate_ splinters," Harry scowled. He heard the stifled chuckle from Dumbledore outside and his scowl deepened.

He ripped another board from the floor. There it was. The ring. Harry bit his lip until it bled. Licking his lip, he carefully levitated the ring. He brought it outside where Dumbledore was standing, making dust dance with his wand.

Harry noticed that Dumbledore's eyes were following the ring's movement. His crooked fingers reached out, but Harry snatched it away quickly, dropping the ring into his dragon hide pouch.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry said, interrupting Dumbledore's trance.

In his professor's normally bright blue eyes, tears seemed to well as Dumbledore stared at Harry's pouch. A drop of salty water trickled out of the corner of his eye. Dumbledore did not wipe it away, but he straightened, reaching out a hand for Harry. Harry grasped it, keeping an eye on the old Headmaster.

"I'm not going to breakdown, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly before Apparating them right outside Hogwarts ground. Quietly, they made their trek up to Dumbledore's office.

"Do Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black and Mr. Potter know any of this?" Dumbledore asked as they walked up the stairs to his office.

"No," Harry replied. "They're too young," Harry said, shaking his head. Dumbledore raised a white, bushy eyebrow.

When Harry was in fourth and fifth year, he wanted to know all about the Order of the Phoenix. Harry felt like a hypocrite. He felt like a liar. But he didn't know what else to do. Was he going to tell them the truth? Harry had to grow up so quickly. His childhood was nothing but monsters and magic, blood and war. James, Sirius and Remus already lived in dark times. Their lives had been cut short and Harry was doing all he could to make sure that they lived until they were old and gray.

He understood where Molly Weasley came from them, when she had said that Harry was too young. Childhood was an important time of your life.

"It's always good," Dumbledore said quietly as he opened the door, "To have friends at your back."

It was, Harry thought. Ron and Hermione were always there for him. He would have died millions of times without Hermione and Ron's friendship kept him going. They weren't there now though. Harry was all alone… but…

"Let's just get this Horcrux over with," Harry muttered. After the ring, all that was left was Helga Hufflepuff's cup…

_In a Gringotts' vault._ Not only was it a vault but it was a _high-security one_, armed with a _dragon._ It was hard enough the first time. Harry had no idea how he was going to pull it off the second time.

Harry unsheathed his sword, and turned his dragon hide pouch upside down, making the ring fall onto the floor.

"It won't help," Harry said to Dumbledore. "The resurrection stone cannot truly bring her back."

"I know," Dumbledore sighed. "I only know too well."

With a swing of his sword, Harry cleaved the ring in two. A piercing scream, just like the others, filled the room. "He knows," Harry said grimly. "I'm sure that Voldemort knows we're doing this."

"He probably does," Dumbledore said calmly. "But there's nothing we can do about that."

"What if he makes more Horcruxes?" Harry asked.

"I…" Dumbledore sighed. "I have people watching over him."

"You can't keep tabs on Voldemort forever," Harry said.

"I know. But I'm doing all that I can."

Harry nodded and sheathed the sword, placing it on Dumbledore's desk. Twirling his wand in his fingers, he walked away, leaving an unharmed resurrection stone on the floor of Dumbledore's office.

**Well... I'm back. But not for long. I'm gonna go to Asia this time - but it'll be a while until I leave. I can't believe it's only fourth year. I'll have to speed things up.**

**OORRR, I'll add a bit of... teehee. **

**So, I see that Harry looks... preetty lonely right now. I mean, there's no Ginny. SO, i was thinking of adding an OC. They'll go out or whatever, but they won't last...**

**D:**

**That's the downside. **

**Tell me if you want her in or out!**


	17. I Don't Need a Girlfriend!

Fourth year. This time around, there was no TriWizard tournament to possibly kill Harry's life. But Harry was not relaxed. As much as he tried to ignore it, Harry could not block the sound of sobbing in the morning when people received their owls. He could not take back the image of black owls swooping into the Great Hall. Remus and James prayed every morning that they would not see a black owl land in front of them, bringing the dreaded news of a loved one gone.

Harry had met the Order members over the summer. The grim, sad faces that seemed to be on every member made Harry's happiness disappear.

…

_Dumbledore held Harry's elbow tautly as he led him to headquarters. "Moody doesn't like me," Harry said softly._

_ "Alastor does not like many people," Dumbledore said as he pushed open heavy double doors. _

_ The funniest thing that happened were the jaw drops of Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They hadn't gotten the memo apparently, that their 'son' was going to be initiated into the Order of the Phoenix at fourteen years old. _

_ But one look at the other faces immediately told Harry it wasn't a good time to smile. They were all miserable. Miserable because a fourteen year old had to join the Order. Another childhood gone. They didn't realize that Harry was in his thirties. But that didn't matter. Harry never had a childhood anyways._

_ "Hello," Harry said clearly. "I am Harry James Potter."_

_ Moody grumbled in the back corner. _

_ "Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this?" Mr. Potter asked, looking between Dumbledore and Harry and finally resting on Dumbledore's wrinkly hand on Harry's elbow. _

_ "I'm being initiated," Harry stated plainly. _

_ "You… you're fourteen!" Mrs. Potter said. The matriarch of the Potter family had grown to care for Harry more and more. It was less awkward between her and Harry and Harry found that he loved having her around. She was the mother Harry never had._

_ Harry shrugged, leaving Dumbledore to explain things. While he did so, Harry sat down, twiddling his thumbs, trying to ignore the obvious stares. _

_ "Hogwarts starts tomorrow," Dumbledore's voice boomed. It was almost no effort for the Headmaster to assume attention. Dumbledore was a natural leader. "We will need people stationed in Hogsmeade. We will continually need people spying on Voldemort for us…"_

_ "Professor," Harry interrupted. "If I may," he said, waiting for Dumbledore's answer. The professor nodded and Harry continued. "Perhaps you should get a Slytherin spy. A future recruit. Someone that you can trust."_

_ "Boy, there are not many people we can trust in the snakes," Moody scowled. _

_ "They are snakes for a reason. Deceptive. Ambitious. Those are not necessarily bad qualities," Harry reasoned. Moody frowned. "Keep an eye out," Harry said. "There will be a good Slytherin. I know it."_

…

So there was Harry, once again sitting in the Marauder's compartment. Remus was a quiet companion, though the silence was not awkward. They sat there, enjoying the peace.

Of course, it had to be ruined.

James and Sirius rushed into the compartment, their hair a mess and ties askew. They were breathing heavily and their eyes were alight with excitement. "You will not guess what just happened," Sirius said, a wide smile on his face.

James looked like he was bursting with happiness. "I want to scream right now, but men do not scream."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"I just overheard that _Jennifer Whitelaw _likes you!" Sirius said, voice almost like a squeal.

Remus's eyebrow rose. "_Overheard_ or _eavesdropped."_

"Does it really make a difference, my dear Remus," Sirius asked, sitting down in the seat next to him.

"That's not important," James said impatiently.

"Yes it is," Remus interjected. James continued as if Remus didn't speak at all.

Jennifer Whitelaw. A pureblood that was coveted among the students of Hogwarts. Sirius had thought of going after her but didn't bother. She was a pureblood. That would mean his parents would approve of her and Sirius didn't want to do anything that wouldn't antagonize his parents.

"What's your point?" Harry asked, flipping through Witch Weekly.

James stared. So did Sirius. Even Remus looked surprise. "Harry…" James began slowly. "If you have any problems with… girls, just tell us."

"What?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We would love you even if you liked guys," Sirius nodded reassuringly. "That doesn't make a difference to us."

Harry began to laugh then, slapping his knee for good measure. His friends stared at him, bewildered. "Thanks guys," Harry said, wiping away a tear from his eye. "But no need. I'm pretty sure I'm into girls, thanks."

"Why aren't you dating anyone then?" Sirius asked.

"Remus isn't dating anyone," Harry said, nodding to the werewolf.

"Remus is a shy young boy who can't speak for himself," Sirius shrugged.

"Hey," Remus said, smacking the back of Sirius' head.

"Ow!" Sirius protested, touching the offending spot with his fingers.

"Tactful, Sirius," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Haven't seen the right girl yet," Harry shrugged. _Yeah,_ Harry thought. _I won't see her until a couple decades later. _

"That's it," Sirius said, slamming his hands down on his lap. "Ow," Sirius whined then, rubbing his thighs. "Why did I do that?"

Remus smacked him again.

"Ow! Quit doing that, you wolf!" Sirius said, rubbing his head again. "We're going to find you a _date_."

"Guys… I don't think that…" Harry started, but no one heard him.

"Yes! We'll put up posters and such. Lily can do that. Lucky she's organized," James said eagerly. "We'll find all the girls interested in Harry and they can fill out some form about their personality. Then we can judge," James said, gesturing to himself, Remus and Sirius.

"That's not a bad idea," Remus said, putting his book down.

"Don't I get a say in all of this?" Harry asked.

"No," they chorused.

"But you can pick which girl you want to date out of the girls we pick for you," James offered.

Harry only groaned.

…

Harry didn't think they would actually go with it. But the flyers were set up. Girls were eying him like a hunk of meat and Lily, James, Sirius and Remus were going on a rampage.

For every poster Harry ripped down, they set up four more. The wizard chess club's flyers were covered up by the posters Lily had printed off.

_Need A Handsome Date?_ That was the title. Harry was sickened. The rest of the flyer went on to describe Harry in a very flattering light. The sign up sheet that James set up was full. Harry was flattered but…

"Stop doing this," Harry demanded.

"Doing what?" James asked innocently as they got ready for bed.

"This idiotic scheme of yours!" Harry snapped.

"Come on Harry," Sirius said, rolling his eyes as he got under his covers. "Even Ms. Greenlake is eying you." Harry shuddered. He didn't want to know about the single sixty year old woman's affections for him. His Defense teacher had shown a particular liking to the fourteen year old. It was scary.

"She's old enough to be my grandmother!" Harry protested.

"People date older women sometimes," Sirius shrugged.

"When they say that, they don't mean they date their grandmothers!"

But they wouldn't listen. Harry was slowly turning insane as they ran around, posting flyers about how Harry needed a girlfriend.

In one of the sessions with Dumbledore, Harry had exploded. "I don't need a girlfriend!" Harry said, pacing the length of Dumbledore's office. "I mean, if I did, I would have told them! I have a wife! And three kids!"

Dumbledore only sipped his tea, an amused smile on his face. "I should be focusing on Horcruxes," Harry continued. "But instead, my friends are _distracting_ me from it! Perhaps I should just tell them all about Voldemort to get them to sober up," Harry said, finally sitting down on the chair that Dumbledore had offered in the beginning of their appointment. He crossed his arms angrily, exhaling loudly.

"Perhaps you should just enjoy the time you have with them," Dumbledore suggested.

Harry's eyes grew angrier. "They are not going to die. Don't make them sound like they're going to die."

"Everyone dies, Harry. Some sooner, some later," the professor said softly. "For now, let the adults," he paused at Harry's glare. "Let the people who _look_ like adults," Dumbledore corrected with a grin, "Handle it for now," he finished.

"You can't handle it without me," Harry argued.

"I'm sure that's true," Dumbledore said. "But for now, let us do what we can. Enjoy the childhood that you've never had, Harry. The rest of us will figure out how to get the last Horcrux. When Voldemort _truly_ comes knocking on our doors, you can finish him."

Harry eyed the old man doubtfully.

"Don't worry, Harry," Dumbledore said. There was the familiar humour in his blue eyes. Harry narrowed his own eyes with suspicion. The Headmaster knew something Harry didn't. "You are dismissed," Dumbledore said then. Without any other choice, Harry left. He didn't need to turn around to know that the professor was smiling widely.

…

"Alright," Sirius hollered. "Attention!" The students in the abandoned classroom quieted down. "Sit down!"

Thirty to forty girls sat down in the desks, eying the other girls around them.

"We have carefully viewed your applications," James said. Harry tried to disappear in the dark corner of the classroom, burying his head in his hands. "You have been chosen out of hundreds of girls."

The girls giggled into their hands.

"Merlin," Harry groaned. "Kill me now."

Remus, who had heard him, turned around and shot Harry a gleeful grin.

"Lily isn't here right now, so Remus will finish for us," James said, clapping.

"This isn't a freaking talk show," Harry whispered furiously to Remus. Remus ignored him though. "We have more important things to talk about. It's life or death!"

Once again, Remus ignored him and began to speak. Harry sank to his knees in groans, covering his head again. Luckily, none of the girls saw Harry, who was still hiding in the dark corner, behind a bookcase.

"You will have one minute with Harry. Later, he will choose whoever strikes his eye," Remus announced.

Finally, Harry shot up, stomping into everyone's gazes. "_Strikes his eye?_ Who says that anymore?!" Harry said, crossing his arms angrily. "And this was entirely their idea. I had no say in it. Just go back to your common rooms!"

"He's joking!" Sirius shouted, soothing the angry murmurings.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are," Sirius insisted.

"Honestly! If you go through with this, I will never speak to _any_ of you again," Harry said, stamping his feet.

"Did you just…" Remus started.

"I think he did. Did you just _stomp your feet_?" James asked incredulously.

"Argh!" Harry stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Inside, Sirius was still speaking. "Don't worry, girls. There's no Harry, but there's me!"

The girls followed Harry out the door, stamping their feet as well.

…

Harry sat in the Great Hall alone. The boys would never think of looking for him there. Quietly he sat in the Gryffindor table, resisting the urge to strangle his best mates. A silent figure sat in front of him. Harry looked up.

Severus Snape sat there uncomfortably, shifting in his seat. Harry's eyebrow rose and he stared at the boy dressed entirely in black robes in front of him, even though the dress code was lifted on weekends.

Snape was obviously not going to make the first move, so Harry spoke first. "Severus," he said, nodding to him. Harry bit back a wince as the word rolled off his tongue. It felt so strange to say it to his professor – well, in the future.

"Potter," Snape said, using the same terse nod that Harry had given him. "I just…" Snape took a deep breath. "I came to you for help."

Harry's eyebrow rose further. Severus Snape… asking for _help? _He must really love Lily.

"What do you need me to help you with?" Harry asked, lacing his fingers together. Man, he sounded zen-like. Perhaps Dumbledore was rubbing off him.

"Lily," Snape said, as if it should've been obvious, which it definitely was.

"Turn to the good side," Harry shrugged.

"Is it that easy?" Snape asked bitterly. "I'm in Slytherin. I am obligated to serve the Dark Lord."

_Obligated? _If Harry was truly fourteen, he would have asked what that word meant. Who uses that word when their fourteen? Harry squared his shoulders, looking at Snape firmly. "Go to Dumbledore tomorrow at seven. Tell him that I sent you," he said quietly.

Harry stood up and left, knowing that Snape was staring at Harry in disbelief and anger behind him.

**I know there's a bunch of trash in there. I know. **

**Fourth year is ****_so_**** boring. The interesting parts only happen when they're older. I'll skip as much as I can to seventh. You're bored of reading this and I'm bored of writing this. **

**I don't really blame you XD. I'm skipping most of fifth year and sixth year is just Harry being angry. Then seventh! Finally! YEES. **


	18. Fifth Year

"So you know what you did was wrong," Harry said, narrowing his eyes. He was sitting on his bed, legs crossed as he looked at Lily, James, Sirius and Remus, who were looking at their feet.

"Yes, Harry," they chorused. They sounded like depressed dogs. Harry tried to keep a smile off his face.

"And you are never going to attempt this _thing_ ever again."

"Yes, Harry."

"And you are going to forgive Severus Snape."

"Yes… _wait what?!" _ Their heads snapped up as they stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"You already said yes," Harry shrugged.

"Forgive that git?" Sirius demanded.

"No way," Lily said. If there was one thing Harry had learned in this entire experience, it was that his mother was incredibly stubborn – to the point of exasperation.

"Don't you want your best friend back?" Harry asked.

Everyone began arguing with him then and Harry sighed. He was not going to get a good night of sleep.

But Harry still managed to give them the slip at dinner time. He sprinted away from the Gryffindor table where his friends were arguing about Quidditch teams. (Harry still thought Puddlemere was the best). He shook his head, ridding it of Quidditch stats and players – well, at least until _after_ the meeting.

He raced up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, not bothering to knock on the door. Besides, Dumbledore had probably _sensed his presence _or something like that.

Harry was not disappointed. Dumbledore and Snape seemed to be in deep conversation, not even bothering to look up when Harry had entered the room.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore greeted. Snape turned around and acknowledged Harry with a nod. Not the warmest of greetings but still a greeting. Harry took a seat next to Snape, his green eyes darting from Snape to Dumbledore and back again.

"We were talking about Severus' future career," Dumbledore said.

"Oh that's easy," Harry said, waving his hands in a way that he hoped was nonchalant. "Become a master at Potions, teach Potions here, become Head of House for Slytherin while doubling as a secret agent and spying on Voldemort."

Snape did not exclaim his protests but his dark eyes widened.

Dumbledore raised a bushy eyebrow. "We wouldn't have won the first time without him," Harry said to the professor.

"Wait, what?" Snape asked.

"Dumbledore – I mean, _Professor_ Dumbledore will explain later," Harry amended. "You said you wanted to be Lily's best friend again. Correct?" Snape nodded hesitantly, still unsure if he could trust Harry and to an extent, Dumbledore.

Snape also looked incredibly confused still. Harry didn't blame him. If he were Snape, he would be too. "Take the Dark Mark. Become Voldemort's right hand man or something, just make him trust you. Well, trust you more than others. Then tell us the information. I'm sure you can sneak around. You're a Slytherin after all."

"But… I'll be killed!" Snape protested.

Harry bit his lip. "I'm confident that you won't die. But many other people might die."

Dumbledore looked deep in thought while Snape still looked confused. "Professor Dumbledore will explain everything. As in _everything_," Harry said, looking to the old Headmaster meaningfully. Dumbledore gave Harry a slight nod.

"Sorry everything is so rushed," Harry said as he snatched a quill from Dumbledore's desk and took out a spare bit of parchment and scribbled something down on it. He wrote the directions to the Room of Requirement and a time. "If I don't get back to the rest of them soon, they'll blow up."

He handed it to Snape and ran out the door, leaving two incredulous people behind him.

"Is he always like that?" Snape asked Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed.

…

Harry, thanks to the influence of Hermione, had thought ahead: meaning he had placed _silencio_ charms on his friends. Since they were too big to fit under the Invisibility Cloak, Remus was on look out – or _hear out_ – since he had the best ears. Lily was the rear guard and Harry, being the quietest was at the front with the Invisibility Cloak, checking around corners to see if any authority figures were there. Sirius and James were in charge of… staying apart. Merlin knows the trouble they would get in together if they were less than five feet apart.

"So far so good," Harry whispered to his friends. Unfortunately, he jinxed it.

As he peered around the next corner, he saw McGonagall, patrolling the corner. Harry's eyes went wide and he turned around, lifting the cloak so his friends could see his face. "McGonagall!" Harry whispered furiously and they began running, as quietly as they could, which meant their progress was slow.

Unfortunately, Sirius had to crash into James, and they fell onto the floor with a loud sound. The only good thing was that Harry had put charms on them, silencing their swearing. The sound of shoes clacking on the ground was getting closer and closer.

Harry shoved his friends, making them go faster. Giving up on being quiet, together they sprinted towards the seventh floor.

He released them from the charm when they made it to the Room of Requirement. Harry ducked inside along with the others. He slammed the doors shut, hoping McGonagall wouldn't notice the place.

"What are you doing?" came a voice. Harry turned around to see Snape, sitting calmly on a wooden chair with a book in his hand.

James had his wand out immediately. "What are you doing here?" he barked.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ cried Harry and James' wand flew out of his hand, landing in Harry's waiting palm.

"Harry!" James exclaimed.

"Calm down! Geez, must be on your freaking man period," Harry grumbled. Sirius barked out laughter, while James crossed his arms.

"Now, everybody be nice and civil," Harry said.

Lily looked unsure as she stared at her former best friend. Surprisingly, Snape stared at all of them with an even look, watching carefully in case he had to defend himself.

Awkward silence filled the room. "Okay." What could Harry really say without revealing the whole operation? "This is going to be Lily-Snape bonding time."

"What?!" James asked, glaring at his twin.

Maybe Harry shouldn't have placed his words that way.

"If Sirius said something mean to you, you would forgive him, wouldn't you?" Harry asked.

"It's different!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sure whatever. Snape you can explain everything about yourself." Hopefully the Slytherin caught onto _yourself_ and not_ Harry. _Harry didn't know why… but he just couldn't tell his friends yet. If they knew that he told _Severus Snape_ before he told _them_…

"Wait, what are we suppose to do?" Remus asked.

"Mingle," Harry shrugged. "I'm going back upstairs. I need my beauty sleep."

Harry exited the room then, leaving behind the Invisibility Cloak. He could always cast a Disillusion Charm on himself. Then he face palmed. Why didn't he do that to the rest of them?

Sighing at his own stupidity, he left.

"I have a feeling that he's not alright up there," Snape said, pointing to his head.

"We had that feeling way before you, Severus," Lily sighed.

…

Fifth year was here. Harry hopped onto the train, Sirius and James right behind him. Lily and Remus had gone on ahead to the prefects' cabin, leaving the three boys behind. Lily had been incredibly smug when she got it. Unbearably annoying too. Sirius, Harry and Remus had wanted to bang their heads against their walls. James however, had been even more enamoured with Lily and her happiness. The happier she was, the more affectionate she became.

"I swear, if she says _one more thing_ about her stupid prefect badge, I will smash her pretty little redhead into a…" Sirius whispered to Harry. James shot him a glare. "Marshmallow."

Harry snickered. Hermione had been nearly as annoying.

They settled into the Marauders' compartment. Harry kicked his feet up onto James' lap, glad for the extra room. He hadn't gotten much sleep because of James, who had been giggling over Lily. _Giggling._ You would think after so long, he would just _give it a rest_ but no.

His insane and obsessive love for Lily Evans was still going strong.

After a while, Remus and Lily came running into their compartment, large smiles on their faces. Harry sighed, getting up and sitting next to Sirius. "Isn't this exciting?" Lily asked.

"Here it comes," Harry whispered to Sirius.

"I mean, we're fifth years and I'm a prefect!"

James and Harry shot Sirius nervous looks. Remus seemed to be oblivious, happy because he made it as a prefect even though he had his own furry little problem. Speaking of furry little problems, tonight was the full moon. Remus already looked drained, face drawn and white.

"Patrolling might be hard and it might cut down on our time together though," Lily said. James' face turned sour then. "And we have O.W.L.'s! I've already made a study schedule for all of you!"

"Don't you have friends to go to? I mean, they're missing you aren't they?" Sirius asked. Lily was too happy to note Sirius' annoyed tone.

"Probably, but I told them I was going to stay here for the rest of the ride," Lily grinned, as if that was the greatest news ever. Before Sirius could retort, Harry shot up.

"We are going to find another compartment. It's rather crowded and Sirius said he wanted to talk to some girl anyways," Harry said, hurrying Sirius out the door.

Lily, who knew that they ran out because of her though didn't know why, shot James a puzzled look. "Did I say something?"

James only sighed.

…

Snape walked by the Gryffindor table, shooting Harry and the rest of them a glare. Harry only acknowledged it with a nod before returning his attention back to Dumbledore. It was odd, but glaring was Snape's way of saying hello. James and Sirius haven't warmed up to him yet, and Remus was still wary, but Harry and Lily trusted him and that was good enough for Snape.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore announced, spreading his hands in a wide gesture.

"I'm hungry," Sirius sighed.

"Sirius, you ate half the trolley," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Honestly, Sirius," Lily berated. "You have a dog's appetite."

Sirius looked unfazed, though Harry and James shot each other looks.

"Curfew has been shortened to nine o'clock at night! Be in your common rooms by then!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the groans around him. Harry and Dumbledore shared a meaningful look.

"Why?" Sirius whined. "Bad enough it was _ten_ last year. Now it's nine?" Harry knew why. Voldemort. The castle walls were strong, but they could easily crumble if Voldemort was powerful enough.

"I have to lead the first years back to dorms," Lily said. "And Remus too. By the way, where is Remus? He was on the train…"

"No idea," James shrugged, a little too quickly.

Sirius face palmed.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Anyways," Lily said, shaking it off. "Do you want to get together tonight and check over our schedules?" she asked.

"He's busy," Harry interrupted.

"Doing what?" Lily asked.

"Men stuff. Women wouldn't get it," Sirius shrugged.

Lily's eyes narrowed so much that they became slits. "Not that he's underestimating women," Harry amended. Lily didn't look appeased. "Okay, I'm going to be honest."

James and Sirius' eyes widened.

"The truth is… we were going to sneak into Hogsmeade and find some jewellery for you. It was James' idea really," Harry said. James and Sirius noticeably relaxed.

"There aren't any stores that are opened so late," Lily said.

Harry cursed inwardly. "We were going to go window shopping so when Hogsmeade comes, James could sneak away and buy it before you noticed. If he didn't go, then he would have to spend time looking for a bracelet or whatever."

Lily didn't look like she believed him. As Sirius and James began making more excuses, Harry slid over to Alice – who would be Neville's mother in the future. Her resemblance to Neville was startling. Her son would have her round, babyish face and her eye colour as well.

"Distract Lily for tonight and I'll get Frank Longbottom to ask you out," Harry whispered to her.

Alice's eyes widened, first because _Harry Potter _was talking to her and second because she thought no one knew that she had a crush on Frank. But Harry knew. He knew that they would one day marry and have a wonderful baby.

"Deal."

Harry slid back over to his seat next to Sirius, a wide smile on his face. He winked at Alice, gesturing for her to talk to Lily. Sure enough, Alice came over to Lily's side and invited her to a manicure party. Whatever that was.

"Please, Lily. We haven't seen each other in like, forever," Alice said, widening her eyes. Lily crumbled and nodded. Harry and Sirius covertly exchanged high-fives.

…

Moony howled and the rest of them immediately began action. Prongs, as the biggest out of the three of them, butted heads with Moony and quickly ducked out of reach when Moony swiped at him. Padfoot and Blackpaws came in closer then, playfully wrestling with the werewolf. Slowly, Moony began to recognize his three pack mates. The were odd to him though. Not the usual werewolf. Instead, they were a stag, a dog and a panther. But still, Moony felt connections to all three of them.

Prongs and Blackpaws led Moony out of the Shrieking Shack, heading for the Forbidden Forest. Padfoot took the rear, occasionally butting Moony's back with his shiny wet nose.

But then he smelled it. The scent of a human. Moony's hackles rose as he howled at the full moon. Growling, he turned around. A human girl stood before him. Saliva dripped down Moony's mouth as he stalked towards the frozen girl. His pack mates seemed to have noticed her as well. Moony lunged, but he was thwarted. Padfoot had leapt on top of him. Growling, Moony shoved Padfoot off, going back in for his prey. But this time, Blackpaws blocked him. Prongs was nearing the girl, herding her away. What was Prongs doing?

Moony growled and bit into Blackpaws. The panther whimpered as Moony tossed him aside. Padfoot continued to wrestle with Moony until the scent of the human girl disappeared. Upset, Moony turned around into the Forbidden Forest, Padfoot trailing after him.

Blackpaws turned back into Harry Potter, the rough bite of a werewolf on his abdomen as he bled out, waiting for James to come back for him.


	19. May Day

Sirius paced the length of the infirmary. Harry lied in one of the white sheeted beds, watching Sirius walk. "I'm sure Harry knows some _obliviate_ spells right?" Sirius asked.

Remus, who was in the bed next to Harry was silent, his blanket almost covering his face.

"Remus can you get up please?" Harry sighed exasperatedly. "I bet you one hundred Galleons that Lily will come rushing in here, apologizing and saying that she doesn't care about your little furry problem."

"Harry, I almost killed you," Remus said softly. "And I bet one hundred Galleons she won't."

"Do you hear that Sirius?" Harry asked. "Remus thinks I'm weak."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Suddenly, the infirmary doors bursted open and James and Lily came running in. James immediately came to his brother's side, checking for injuries. Lily, however, rushed to Remus' bed, shaking his arm. "I'm sorry, Remus! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry and please forgive me so that we can continue being friends and I really want to apologize. Wait did I already say that? I mean, I want to say sorry! Wait, I said that already! Whatever, I just want us to stay friends. At least acquaintances so that we can patrol together still and we _are_ prefects so we have to stay focused…"

"Prefects again," Sirius grumbled.

Lily continued as if she wasn't interrupted. "And who cares if you're a werewolf. As long as you're still you and I mean, wait, is that really cheesy? Yeah it is. I'm sorry!"

"One hundred Galleons please," Harry coughed. "I'm so getting the new broom," Harry grinned.

"No fair!" Sirius said. "I wanted it for _ages_."

"I'll get you a flying motorcycle," Harry said.

"Cool!" Sirius grinned.

"Only if you take me on a ride," Harry said. "And we'll fool the Muggle po-po."

"What's _po-po_?" Sirius asked.

"Will you two shut up!?" James demanded. "You can continue speaking if you're taking me though."

"Deal!" Harry and Sirius chorused.

"Guys!" came Remus' voice.

"Yes, Remy?" Sirius asked.

Remus scowled.

"Say this with me, Remus," Harry said. "I shall stop being so stubborn and listen to my totally amazing friends."

Remus didn't repeat it.

"Oi, enough with this!" Sirius said. "I'm getting bored!"

"I _bit _you!" Remus argued.

"I was an animal, dolt!" Harry rolled his eyes. "And if I become a werewolf… then we can be pack mates!"

"This isn't a joke, Harry!"

"Life is a joke," Harry said wisely. "You must laugh along."

"Wise advice!" Sirius declared. "I have some too. _Let us eat._"

"Good advice!" James clapped. "I shall ring for Madam Pomfrey."

"I'm a werewolf guys! This is no joking matter," Remus snapped.

"Chills, dude," Sirius said, putting two hands up.

"No one can ever love me…" Remus said sadly.

Harry raised an eyebrow. He never knew Remus was so dramatic. "What if I tell you, that you're going to marry a girl someday?"

"I'd say you're crazy," Remus shrugged.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Someone bring me Exploding Snap. I'm bored!" Harry declared.

…

"I see you're finally letting go," Dumbledore nodded as Harry entered, his robes hiding the bandage on his chest.

"Eh," Harry shrugged. "But if you don't kill Voldemort quickly, I'll have to interfere. He knows we're killing Horcruxes. He might make more."

"The adults," Dumbledore began, but he stopped after a glare from Harry. "The rest of the Order will deal with it. Just go play."

"Go play?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Is that not what the young people say nowadays? Let's go play?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah, sure…" Harry said, walking out slowly. "When we were five," he muttered to himself.

…

Remus had finally come out of his tiny hole of shame and despair. Why? Because he'd met a girl. And Harry did not approve.

"May isn't even _pretty_," Harry protested. "And she's in _Ravenclaw!_ Isn't that where the boring people go?"

"I was almost Sorted into Ravenclaw, Harry," Lily frowned.

"So was I," Remus said, crossing his arms. So was Hermione actually, but Harry decided not to mention that.

"But you _weren't_," Harry said.

"May's my friend, Harry," Lily argued.

"_Still!"_ Harry protested.

"I agree," Sirius piped up. "Mostly because May's on my list of conquests."

Lily looked at Sirius, disgusted.

"I was joking! Geez," Sirius grumbled.

The doors to the Room of Requirement opened then, and then shut. James took off the Invisibility Cloak, revealing the face of Snape as well as his own.

"Sev! Join us! We're talking about May Day and how she's totally wrong for Remus," Harry gestured.

"You're talking about a girl when O.W.L.'s are tomorrow?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We relax before tests. It's not like any of us are going to fail," Sirius shrugged. "We're all geniuses."

Lily frowned but Snape grinned at being part of the 'geniuses.' Harry thought it would never happen, though he had hoped. Snape and the Marauders had became friends. They would have the occasional fights, but besides that they were _okay._

"Anyways, who has a name called _May Day._ That's a band isn't it?" Harry asked.

"There's no band called May Day, Harry," Sirius said.

"Never mind then," Harry shrugged, forgetting he was in the 1970's.

"May Day is short and cute," Remus argued.

"But she doesn't even speak," Snape said.

"See!?" Harry said, making wild gestures in the air.

"Do you not want me to be happy, Harry?" Remus pouted.

"I do but…"

"Great! Then it's settled!" Remus clapped his hands.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Give it a break," James sighed. "We need to talk about Quidditch. McGonagall said I was going to be captain next year," he said giddily.

"And it goes back to Jamie," Sirius said glumly.

"Don't call me that," James snapped.

"Jamie!" Sirius shouted.

"_Silencio!"_ James shouted. Sirius opened his mouth to say 'Jamie' again, but no sound came out.

"It's sad how often we use _silencio_," Harry noted.

"Whatever," Remus said. "And May… she's shy… and she's so beautiful… those waterfall locks of blonde hair… curling to her waist… and those green eyes… As beautiful as jades."

"What are jades?" James asked.

Remus continued without a pause. "And she's so brilliant. She can Transfigure anything."

"Actually," James said. "We," gesturing to himself, Harry and Sirius, "Are better than her."

"And she takes notes in History of Magic… which means she pays attention," Remus said dreamily.

"All Ravenclaws take notes in History of Magic. She's no different," Snape said.

"Whatever. Her potions…"

"All bomb in disaster," Harry interrupted. Literally. Remus had nabbed May as a partner and while he took notes and gathered ingredients and did most of the work, May was supposed to stir the cauldron. But she over stirred, causing a reaction in her cauldron and it exploded.

"She's good in Ancient Runes though," Remus argued.

"Remus, Sirius is good in Ancient Runes. I don't see you wanting to date him," James said.

"Oh shut up!" Remus snapped.

"She's not the right girl for you!" Harry said.

Remus stormed out of the Room, leaving his friends staring at him.

"Remus is so… hot-headed lately," Snape said.

"I think it's his time of month," Sirius said, standing up to leave as well.

"Sirius, the full moon was a week ago," Lily said, confused.

Sirius shrugged. "That's not what I meant."

…

Remus managed to take a seat next to May in Ancient Runes. The other Marauders stared at him in disbelief. Lily took a seat next to James, looking up in confusion. "Where's Remus?"

The three Marauders pointed at him, sitting next to May.

"He ditched us," Harry said plainly.

"They… look cute together?" Lily said weakly.

To be honest, they did. Remus' sandy hair complimented May's blonde locks and they both were rather handsome.

But then there was Tonks. She was not exactly the most beautiful person in the world, but she was loud. She was exciting and she was great – perfect for Remus. She brought him out of his stupid shell, but May would just push Remus back in it.

Harry growled.

As the teacher continued talking, Harry found himself clenching his fists instead of listening. What about Teddy?

But Remus was acting like a shy, teenage girl. He was passing notes to May, a flirty smile on his face.

What. The. Heck.

Remus John Lupin did not flirt.

Sliding out his wand into his hand, he silently sent a Stinging Hex to both May and Remus.

"Ow!" May yelped. Remus did not yelp as she did, but flinched. Harry quickly hid his wand out of view, sending them surprised looks, just like the rest of the class was.

"Is something wrong, Miss Day?" the professor asked as she came closer to the pair. Then she saw the note that they had been passing. Raising her eyebrow, she snatched it away from them, clearing her throat.

"This is the note that Miss Day and Mr. Lupin have been passing. And I shall read it. So that no one else will pass notes, or else they shall suffer the same consequences."

Sirius, who had nearly been dozing off, looked up with newfound interest. It was completely unfair that Sirius didn't even try to get good grades.

"The person with the neat writing first says: _Hi._ Wow, what a greeting, right class?" the teacher said sarcastically. The Gryffindors chuckled. The Ravenclaws looked rather severe with their disapproving looks. Remus and May were sinking into their seats. "Next, the person with the messier scrawl replies: _I'm trying to listen. _That is _great_. Why couldn't the person with neat writing listen as well?" Professor Babbling asked.

"_You can always write and listen as well. You look like a person who can multitask, _says the person with neat handwriting," Professor Babbling continued. She stared shock at the paper. Sirius cat-called.

Remus' blush became darker.

"_Wait! I don't mean that! _At least this person with neat handwriting has _some _ manners," Professor Babbling said. Harry grinned.

"_Remus, I'm a busy person! Bother someone else!" _Professor Babbling shook her head. "We finally get a name. Remus, you are the person who… suggested that Miss Day can multitask?"

Remus could sink no lower in his seat.

"_Just one more question," _continues the professor after the laughing died down. "_What?_ Miss Day had asked that, with no fewer than ten question marks. Because you can never get the point across with just one, of course!"

The class laughed again, Sirius and James the loudest. Even the Ravenclaws were quietly chuckling.

"_Wanna go to the last Hogsmeade together?" _the professor raised an eyebrow. "May responds with: _Sure. _Why, Miss Day. I had assumed that you did not like Mr. Lupin. Following the _sure_, there are no less than seven hearts. How nice."

Sirius howled with laughter.

"For homework, write an essay on how healing runes differ from healing magic," Professor Babbling said, discarding the note.

"That was one of the best classes I ever had," Sirius declared as they exited.

"Agreed," Harry smiled.

"I saw the hex Harry," Sirius whispered, rolling his eyes.

Harry shrugged. "That wasn't me." Sirius scoffed as they continued walking. Perhaps Harry felt guilty, maybe just a smidge, but there was Teddy to think about. _Teddy!_ And Tonks! Whatever. May was not right for Remus and that was settled.

**SORRY that it's such a late update. My creative juices had not been flowing. Basically, writer's block.**

**Don't worry, I didn't die. **

**I'm going to FINISH THIS! And I'm making it more humourous. as much as i can. Even if its bad humour. whatever. **


	20. Mary Sue Sham Part 1

That night was the last night at Hogwarts until September 1st came. To celebrate their completion of the O.W.L.'s, the Marauders had decided to pull a prank.

"No, you idiot! If we put the rhino there, McGonagall's just going to transfigure it!" Sirius argued. The four Marauders were sitting on the floor, fingers pointing at the map.

"We aren't even putting a rhino in the hallway anymore!" Remus said. Sirius pouted.

"I thought we were just going to ice the hallways!" James said.

"If you want icy hallways, say 'aye'," Harry said.

"Aye," came three calls. Sirius was still pouting.

"If we had a rhino _skating_, I think…"

"No!" Harry reprimanded. "Remus and I'll do fourth floors to the seventh and James and Sirius – you're doing the rest. Remus and I will take the map and you two can have the cloak."

Harry transfigured their shoes into skates and handed a pair to each boy. With a wild grin, Harry stood up. "Let's go."

…

The next morning was chaos. Students kept slipping and sliding, falling into one another. One of the seventh year Slytherins had been attempting to hex a first year Gryffindor, but ended up on his butt and cursing his girlfriend.

Unsurprisingly, the seventh year had become a lonely man with his butt freezing.

The teachers couldn't get rid of the ice for a couple hours. The Marauders had found the strongest spell possible and added an extra layer of protection. Eventually, the ice had melted, but it still was an eventful morning.

Fifth year was finally over and done. Remus had given up on May Day. May refused to speak to Remus after they both were humiliated. Luckily, Remus hadn't seen Harry's spell.

"You know," James said as they settled into their compartment, "I want to be an Auror."

"So do I," Sirius piped up. "Kicking Death Eater's asses back to Azkaban!"

Remus rolled his eyes. Harry thought that Remus' eyes would roll out of his head if he hung out with James and Sirius for too long. "I want to be an Auror as well," Harry said. "All that lovely paperwork and sitting in an office all day…" Harry sighed dreamily. "How wonderful."

"Wait what?" Sirius asked.

Harry and Remus snickered as Sirius and James stared at them, dumbfounded.

Suddenly, a girl walked by and when she caught a sight of the Marauders, she blushed and waved prettily before walking away.

"Guys," Sirius said suddenly. "I'm in love with Mary Sue."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Are you being serious?"

"No doubt," Sirius nodded. "I'm in _love!_"

Mary Sue Sham was indeed pretty and Sirius was always a sucker for the pretty ones.

"She's so smart – she gets straight O's! And she has a silk waterfall of gold hair and blue eyes like the sky!" Sirius babbled. "And she plays pranks! And she never gets caught because she's just that good!"

"Where… how…?" Remus asked.

James stared at his best friend blankly. Then suddenly, Sirius snapped out of his dreamy haze. "What just happened?" he asked.

Harry didn't really want to know.

…

"She has to be some sort of witch!" Sirius exclaimed as they flew around the Potter Manor's backyard.

"She _is_ a witch, Padfoot," James said as he dived down for the Quaffle they were tossing. Remus was there too, though much less comfortable than the other three boys who were in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"But… like those Muggle ones! With the big nose and ugly face!" Sirius argued.

"Mary Sue is dangerous," Harry said. "Just don't go near her."

"But…" Sirius began, but Remus cut him off.

"Just shut up and fetch, Padfoot," Remus said, hurling the Quaffle at him.

Sirius caught it with a grunt. "Fetch. Dog. Ha," he said dryly.

…

O.W.L.'s came in soon, and Harry – with his learning advantage, had gotten mostly O's. He failed History of Magic and got an A in Arithmancy though. Harry decided he would take the standard Auror courses. After all, he had already done them before and he was sure that the new professor (the last one had refused to come back after the ice in the hallway incident) would be excellent. At the very least, better than the bitter Snape.

The other Marauders were doing the exact same thing, though Remus had two extra courses. Being a werewolf meant he didn't have lots of options, so he needed the grades to get into anything.

Mary Sue Sham had not left Sirius' mind. Sometimes, Sirius would go off into a dreamy haze whenever he thought of her for too long.

Summer went by extremely fast, and the Marauders were once again, lounging on the common room couches after a long day. "That new professor is killing me," Sirius complained. "Non-verbal spells? Forget it."

A girl sat down in one of the big armchairs near the fire, directly in front of Sirius. Sirius' gray eyes immediately became blank. Mary Sue Sham. Her long eyelashes fluttered as her cheeks turned pink. Harry wanted to hurl. What kind of girl blushed so often? Even Ginny didn't blush as much when she was in Harry Potter fan girl mode.

"Hi Mary," Sirius said dreamily. Remus waved a hand in front of his face. No response.

"Hi Sirius," Mary said, cheeks becoming darker. Remus, Harry and James exchanged looks. "I… I know that you all are… _animagus_. And I wanted to tell you that… I'm one too."

Harry's eyes widened. Who would say that in a crowded common room? Luckily, everybody was focused on his or her homework and nobody seemed to pay attention to Mary.

"Remus, I know you're a werewolf, and I don't care at all!" Mary exclaimed.

Remus' nostrils flared. "Will you shut up?" James asked hostilely. Mary flinched, tears coming to her face.

Sirius glared at James before moving closer to Mary – close enough that he could touch her hand. "What's wrong, Mary?" he asked softly.

"It's just… my parents… they would always say that to me and he never cares about me. It's all pureblood this and pureblood that, but I believe that Muggleborns are just as amazing as purebloods! I mean… it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Mary said. Sirius scooted even closer.

The girl was getting on Harry's last nerve. Nobody revealed their backstory like that – to a stranger, no less.

"What animal are you?" Sirius asked.

"A unicorn," Mary smiled.

"Okay, that's enough!" Harry said, standing up. He stalked over to Sirius and grabbed him by the arm. Sirius struggled against his grip, but James quickly came to Harry's aid. With the help of Remus, the three of them managed to shove Sirius into the dorm room, pushing him up the steep staircase.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked angrily.

"Saving your arse! Bloody hell, that girl!" James cursed. "Are you awake, Padfoot?" James asked, shooting a stream of water from his wand into Sirius' face.

"Merlin's beard!" Sirius jumped. "Did I just… and did she just… Someone kill her!"

"I'm sure you didn't want to kill her when you scooted up to her butt. Freaking suck up," Remus said.

Harry fell back onto his bed, sighing heavily. He had a feeling this year was going to eventful.

…

Somehow, Mary Sue Sham had successfully entered every single class Sirius had. This meant that James, Harry, and Remus also had to watch Sirius squeal over her 'piercing blue eyes' and 'beauty that rivaled Aphrodite's.'

"I don't know how I haven't noticed her in our five years at Hogwarts. She's smart… talented… funny…" Sirius droned on. McGonagall had left her sixth year students to transfigure a pair of glasses into a Venetian mask. It was simple and was a simple warm-up to the rest of the year.

"Funny?" James interrupted. "She hasn't said anything funny at all!"

"And she pulls pranks!" Sirius said, smacking his hand on the table as if that was a dealbreaker.

"As far as I know, there have never been any pranks done by her. Where is this all coming from?" Remus asked.

Soon, class ended during McGonagall's big warning speech and Sirius snatched up the Venetian mask he had transfigured. "What are you doing?" Harry called out after him. Sirius weaved through the exiting students, catching up to Mary Sue. The other Marauders quickly ran to catch up to them, making sure Sirius didn't reveal anything too embarrassing or humiliate himself.

"This is for you," Sirius said, holding up the mask. Admittedly, it was pretty. The mask was done up with black and silver swirls, glittering prettily. Mary blushed (again with the blushes!) and accepted it.

"Hey… Mary… do you want to go to Hogsmeade…" James tackled Sirius before he could say another word.

"We were going to look at brooms that day, you idiot!" James said. James stood up. "Bugger off!"

Mary brought a delicate hand to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. Merlin, Harry wanted to puke. She turned and ran away and Sirius stood up, shoving James. "Why did you do that?! We weren't going to go look at brooms!"

"I was saving you!" James said angrily.

Sirius froze for a second. "Bloody hell."

"Bloody hell is correct," Remus said.

…

The next couple of months were not smooth sailing. Sirius became unfocused whenever Mary was near him. Harry was sure that Mary was a Veela, since most of the boys in Hogwarts were drooling whenever she passed. Remus didn't though. Harry thought it was because Remus was simply too good for Mary Sue Sham, and Remus obviously saw it.

Sirius however, was driving himself insane.

"Stop her! Stop me! Someone gut her with a spork!" Sirius said, slamming his fist into the dining hall table. Twinkling lights were set up in the Great Hall and a large Christmas tree stood grand and tall behind Dumbledore's seat.

Mary was sitting at the Gryffindor table; Remus had made sure that they sat on the other end of the long table.

"What's a _spork?_" James asked, sitting down next to Sirius with Lily on his side.

"It's a spoon with the ends of a fork, invented by the Muggles in the 19th century," Lily piped up.

"Well, gut her with one!" Sirius said, pointing angrily to Mary Sue Sham.

"Why?" Lily asked. "She's the nicest person I've ever met and she's my best friend."

James' jaw dropped. "You're infected too. Not my Evans!" James hollered. The few people left in the dining hall turned to gape at James. "Bugger off!" James scowled.

"Something must be done," Sirius said, once again slamming his fist into the wood. Mary Sue began walking over. "Please tell me she's not coming here," Sirius pleaded, placing his head onto the table. He covered the back of his neck with his arms.

"Sirius?" Mary asked, once she came over. "Can I talk to you?" Sirius shot up immediately, the dazed look returning to his eyes. Lily seemed to be looking at Mary Sue with a certain reverence as well.

James turned Lily so that she was looking straight into his eyes. "Stay focused on me, Lily. Don't focus on… anything else."

While James was busy with Lily and trying to rid her of the disease called 'Mary Sueness,' Harry and Remus sneakily moved over to where Mary and Sirius stood. Mary spoke to Sirius in hushed tones.

"…so that's why I didn't go home for Christmas. I was hoping… that maybe you could teach me how to fly a broom. I never learned," Mary said.

"Sure!" Sirius said, all too happily. Remus groaned. Harry was banging his forehead onto the table.

"Meet me on the pitch at ten," Mary blushed before walking away.

Sirius sat down next to Harry with a glow on his face. That glow turned into confusion, anger and then finally, defeat. "Spork me, Harry. Just do it."

**I wanted to add more humour. So I DID! AHA. **

**I hate Mary Sues with a passion. I wanted to call her Mary Sue Fake, but then Sham sounded more like a last name. Whatever. They're synonyms anyways.**

**I remember putting Mary Sues into my writing when i was a newbie. I reread those: NEVER GOING BACK MAN! **

**This is only pt. 1. Be ready for part two. **


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